Sensitive determination of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Tussilago farfara L. by field-amplified, sample-stacking, sweeping micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

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Cao, Kun; Xu, Yi; Mu, Xiuni; Zhang, Qing; Wang, Renjie; Lv, Junjiang

2016-11-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are the toxic components in Tussilago farfara L. Due to the lack of standard substances for quantitative analysis and traces of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in total alkaloids, the full quality control of Tussilago farfara L has been limited. In this study, we aimed to solve the difficulty of determination of pyrrolizidine alkaloids and identify more components in the total alkaloids. An on-line preconcentration method has been applied to improve determining sensitivity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Tussilago farfara L. in which included field-amplified sample stacking and sweeping in micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography. The main parameters that affected separation and stacking efficiency were investigated in details. Under the optimal conditions, the sensitivity enhancement factors obtained by the developed method for the analytes were from 15- to 12-fold, the limits of detection of senkirkine and senecionine were 2∼5 μg/L. Senkirkine and senecionine have been detected in alkaloids (c) of Tussilago farfara L, along ferulic acid methyl ester and methyl caffeate. The developed method was also applied to the analysis of acid extraction (a) of Tussilago farfara L, and senkirkine could be detected directly. The results indicated that the developed method is feasible for the analysis of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Tussilago farfara L with good recoveries. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Effects of antibacterial agents on in vitro ovine ruminal biotransformation of the hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid jacobine.

OpenAIRE

Wachenheim, D E; Blythe, L L; Craig, A M

1992-01-01

Ingestion of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, naturally occurring plant toxins, causes illness and death in a number of animal species. Senecio jacobaea pyrrolizidine alkaloids cause significant economic losses due to livestock poisoning, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Some sheep are resistant to pyrrolizidine alkaloid poisoning, because ovine ruminal biotransformation detoxifies free pyrrolizidine alkaloids in digesta. Antibacterial agents modify ruminal fermentation. Pretreatment with antib...

Molekulare Identifizierung und Charakterisierung der Flavin-abhängigen Monooxygenasen in verschiedenen Pyrrolizidin-Alkaloid-adaptierten Insekten

OpenAIRE

Wang, Linzhu

2013-01-01

Several insect lineages have developed diverse strategies to sequester toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids from food-plants for their own defense. Here, we show that in two highly divergent insect taxa, the hemimetabolous grasshoppers and the holometabolous butterflies, an almost identical strategy evolved independently for safe accumulation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. This strategy involves a pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenase that transfers the pyrrolizidine alkaloids to their respect...

TOXIC PYRROLIZIDINE ALKALOIDS OF ECHIUM AMOENUM FISCH. & MEY.

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MITRA MEHRABANI

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids are present in some species of Echium (Boraginaceae. In this study petals of Echium amoenum Fisch. & Mey. (Gol-e-Gavzaban as a popular herbal medicine in Iran, were investigated for pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs. The alkaloids were separated and purified by preparative TLC and characterized by IR, one and two dimensional 1H and 13C-NMR and Mass spectroscopy. Four toxic alkaloids namely: echimidine I, echimidine isomer II, 7-angeloyl retronecine III and 7-tigloyl retronecine IV were identified.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Heliotropium megalanthum.

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Reina, M; Gonzalez-Coloma, A; Gutierrez, C; Cabrera, R; Henriquez, J; Villarroel, L

1998-11-01

Two pyrrolizidine alkaloids, megalanthonine (1) and lycopsamine (2), have been isolated from Heliotropium megalanthum. The structure of the novel compound 1 was determined by spectroscopic methods. The insecticidal, antifeedant, and antifungal effects of compounds 1 and 2 have been evaluated.

Genotoxic Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids — Mechanisms Leading to DNA Adduct Formation and Tumorigenicity

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Ming W. Chou

2002-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Plants that contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids are widely distributed in the world. Although pyrrolizidine alkaloids have been shown to be genotoxic and tumorigenic in experimental animals, the mechanisms of actions have not been fully understood. The results of our recent mechanistic studies suggest that pyrrolizidine alkaloids induce tumors via a genotoxic mechanism mediated by 6,7-dihydro-7-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-5Hpyrrolizine (DHP-derived DNA adduct formation. This mechanism may be general to most carcinogenic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, including the retronecine-, heliotridine-, and otonecinetype pyrrolizidine alkaloids. It is hypothesized that these DHP-derived DNA adducts are potential biomarkers of pyrrolizidine alkaloid tumorigenicity. The mechanisms that involve the formation of DNA cross-linking and endogenous DNA adducts are also discussed.

Independent recruitment of a flavin-dependent monooxygenase for safe accumulation of sequestered pyrrolizidine alkaloids in grasshoppers and moths.

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Linzhu Wang

Full Text Available Several insect lineages have developed diverse strategies to sequester toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids from food-plants for their own defense. Here, we show that in two highly divergent insect taxa, the hemimetabolous grasshoppers and the holometabolous butterflies, an almost identical strategy evolved independently for safe accumulation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. This strategy involves a pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenase that transfers the pyrrolizidine alkaloids to their respective N-oxide, enabling the insects to avoid high concentrations of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the hemolymph. We have identified a pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenase, which is a flavin-dependent monooxygenase, of the grasshopper Zonocerus variegatus. After heterologous expression in E. coli, this enzyme shows high specificity for pyrrolizidine alkaloids of various structural types and for the tropane alkaloid atropine as substrates, a property that has been described previously for a pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenase of the arctiid moth Grammia geneura. Phylogenetic analyses of insect flavin-dependent monooxygenase sequences suggest that independent gene duplication events preceded the establishment of this specific enzyme in the lineages of the grasshoppers and of arctiid moths. Two further flavin-dependent monooxygenase sequences have been identified from Z. variegatus sharing amino acid identities of approximately 78% to the pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenase. After heterologous expression, both enzymes are also able to catalyze the N-oxygenation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, albeit with a 400-fold lower specific activity. With respect to the high sequence identity between the three Z. variegatus sequences this ability to N-oxygenize pyrrolizidine alkaloids is interpreted as a relict of a former bifunctional ancestor gene of which one of the gene copies optimized this activity for the specific adaptation to pyrrolizidine alkaloid containing food plants.

Independent recruitment of a flavin-dependent monooxygenase for safe accumulation of sequestered pyrrolizidine alkaloids in grasshoppers and moths.

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Wang, Linzhu; Beuerle, Till; Timbilla, James; Ober, Dietrich

2012-01-01

Several insect lineages have developed diverse strategies to sequester toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids from food-plants for their own defense. Here, we show that in two highly divergent insect taxa, the hemimetabolous grasshoppers and the holometabolous butterflies, an almost identical strategy evolved independently for safe accumulation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. This strategy involves a pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenase that transfers the pyrrolizidine alkaloids to their respective N-oxide, enabling the insects to avoid high concentrations of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the hemolymph. We have identified a pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenase, which is a flavin-dependent monooxygenase, of the grasshopper Zonocerus variegatus. After heterologous expression in E. coli, this enzyme shows high specificity for pyrrolizidine alkaloids of various structural types and for the tropane alkaloid atropine as substrates, a property that has been described previously for a pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenase of the arctiid moth Grammia geneura. Phylogenetic analyses of insect flavin-dependent monooxygenase sequences suggest that independent gene duplication events preceded the establishment of this specific enzyme in the lineages of the grasshoppers and of arctiid moths. Two further flavin-dependent monooxygenase sequences have been identified from Z. variegatus sharing amino acid identities of approximately 78% to the pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenase. After heterologous expression, both enzymes are also able to catalyze the N-oxygenation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, albeit with a 400-fold lower specific activity. With respect to the high sequence identity between the three Z. variegatus sequences this ability to N-oxygenize pyrrolizidine alkaloids is interpreted as a relict of a former bifunctional ancestor gene of which one of the gene copies optimized this activity for the specific adaptation to pyrrolizidine alkaloid containing food plants.

Suspected pyrrolizidine alkaloid hepatotoxicosis in wild southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons).

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Woolford, Lucy; Fletcher, Mary T; Boardman, Wayne S J

2014-07-30

Southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons) inhabiting degraded habitat in South Australia were recently identified with extensive hair loss and dermatitis and were in thin to emaciated body condition. Pathological and clinicopathological investigations on affected juvenile wombats identified a toxic hepatopathy suggestive of plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids, accompanied by photosensitive dermatitis. Hepatic disease was suspected in additional wombats on the basis of serum biochemical analysis. Preliminary toxicological analysis performed on scats and gastrointestinal contents from wombats found in this degraded habitat identified a number of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids consistent with ingestion of Heliotropeum europaeum. Although unpalatable, ingestion may occur by young animals due to decreased availability of preferred forages in degraded habitats and the emergence of weeds around the time of weaning of naive animals. Habitat degradation leading to malnutrition and ingestion of toxic weed species is a significant welfare issue in this species.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids from seven wild-growing Senecio species in Serbia and Montenegro

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BORIS M. MANDIC

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The genus Senecio (family Asteraceae is one of the largest in the world. It comprises about 1100 species which are the rich source of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids are among the most important sources of human and animal exposure to plant toxins and carcinogens. The pyrrolizidine alkaloids of seven Senecio species (S. erucifolius, S. othonnae, S. wagneri, S. subalpinus, S. carpathicus, S. paludosus and S. rupestris were studied. Fourteen alkaloids were isolated and their structures determined from spectroscopic data (1H- and 13C-NMR, IR and MS. Five of them were identified in S. erucifolius, four in S. othonnae, two in S. wagneri, four in S. subalpinus, two in S. carpathicus, three in S. paludosus and three in S. rupestris. Seven pyrrolizidine alkaloids were found for the first time in particular species. The results have chemotaxonomic importance. The cytotoxic activity and antimicrobial activity of some alkaloids were also studied.

A concise route to pyrrolizidine alkaloids bearing the 1,2-amino alcohol functionality

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Palomo, C.; Aizpurua, J.M.; Roman, P.; Luque, A.; Martinez-Ripoll, M. [Facultad de Quimica, Departamento de Quimica Organica, Universidad del Pais Vascom San Sebastian (Spain)

1996-10-01

The first entry to optically pure 4-amino-3-hydroxy-pyrrolizidine and 4-amino-pyrrolizidine alkaloid frameworks is provided by a highly diastereoselective [2+2] cycloaddition of alkoxyketenes to N-Boc-prolinal imines as the key reaction.

Recognition of pyrrolizidine alkaloid esters in the invasive aquatic plant Gymnocoronis spilanthoides (Asteraceae).

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Boppré, Michael; Colegate, Steven M

2015-01-01

The freshwater aquatic plant Gymnocoronis spilanthoides (Senegal tea plant, jazmín del bañado, Falscher Wasserfreund) is an invasive plant in many countries. Behavioural observations of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-pharmacophagous butterflies suggested the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the plant. To determine whether the attraction of the butterflies to the plant is an accurate indicator of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in G. spilanthoides. The alkaloid fraction of a methanolic extract of G. spilanthoides was analysed using HPLC with electrospray ionisation MS and MS/MS. Two HPLC approaches were used, that is, a C18 reversed-phase column with an acidic mobile phase, and a porous graphitic carbon column with a basic mobile phase. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids were confirmed, with the free base forms more prevalent than the N-oxides. The major alkaloids detected were lycopsamine and intermedine. The porous graphitic carbon HPLC column, with basic mobile phase conditions, resulted in better resolution of more pyrrolizidine alkaloids including rinderine, the heliotridine-based epimer of intermedine. Based on the MS/MS and high-resolution MS data, gymnocoronine was tentatively identified as an unusual C9 retronecine ester with 2,3-dihydroxy-2-propenylbutanoic acid. Among several minor-abundance monoester pyrrolizidines recognised, spilanthine was tentatively identified as an ester of isoretronecanol with the unusual 2-acetoxymethylbutanoic acid. The butterflies proved to be reliable indicators for the presence of pro-toxic 1,2-dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids in G. spilanthoides, the first aquatic plant shown to produce these alkaloids. The presence of the anti-herbivory alkaloids may contribute to the plant's invasive capabilities and would certainly be a consideration in any risk assessment of deliberate utilisation of the plant. The prolific growth of the plant and the structural diversity of its pyrrolizidine alkaloids may make it ideal for investigating biosynthetic

[Pyrrolizidine alkaloids and seneciosis in farm animals. Part 1: occurrence, chemistry and toxicology].

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Petzinger, E

2011-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids belong to a class of phytotoxins which are present in more than 6000 plant species. The disease seneciosis in farm animals represents the severe poisoning by pyrrolizidine alkaloids from plants of the genus Senecio. This form of poisoning has been known since the end of the 19th century in Germany, the USA, Canada and New Zealand, and is mainly caused by Senecio jacobaea and related Senecio spp. in farm animals, including poultry. Animal poisoning by pyrrolizidine alkaloids is of worldwide importance. In Germany poisoning of horses and cattle by Senecio jacobaea, which was earlier named Schweinsberg disease, is of renewed relevance for veterinary medicine. The disease occurs almost entirely as a consequence of chronic poisoning and in general ends fatally. The ultimate cause is the formation of toxic metabolites of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the liver, and their covalent binding to nucleic acids and proteins leading to liver cirrhosis. Because many pyrrolizidine alkaloids possess mutagenic, and a few also carcinogenic properties, European and international authorities are concerned about possible residue levels in food of animal origin. The review addresses in its first part several aspects, being the occurrence, the chemistry, and the toxicology of pyrrolizidine alkaloids as well as animal intoxications by poisonous plants. In the second part (46) clinical characteristics of animal seneciosis, the therapeutic interventions, the significant species differences and a critical assessment of so-called nontoxic amounts of Senecio plants in animal fodder with reference to cumulative lethal toxin doses are presented.

Blood pyrrole-protein adducts as a diagnostic and prognostic index in pyrrolizidine alkaloid-hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome.

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Gao, Hong; Ruan, Jianqing Q; Chen, Jie; Li, Na; Ke, Changqiang Q; Ye, Yang; Lin, Ge; Wang, Jiyao Y

2015-01-01

The diagnosis of hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS) induced by pyrrolizidine alkaloids is mainly based on clinical investigation. There is currently no prognostic index. This study evaluated the quantitative measurement of blood pyrrole-protein adducts (PPAs) as a diagnostic and prognostic index for pyrrolizidine alkaloid-induced HSOS. Suspected drug-induced liver injury patients were prospectively recruited. Blood PPAs were quantitatively measured using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Patients' age, sex, biochemistry test results, and a detailed drug history were recorded. The patients were divided into two groups, ie, those with HSOS induced by pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing drugs and those with liver injury induced by drugs without pyrrolizidine alkaloids. The relationship between herb administration, clinical outcomes, blood sampling time, and blood PPA concentration in pyrrolizidine alkaloid-associated HSOS patients was analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis. Forty patients met the entry criteria, among whom 23 had pyrrolizidine alkaloid-associated HSOS and 17 had liver injury caused by drugs without pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Among the 23 patients with pyrrolizidine alkaloid-associated HSOS, ten recovered, four developed chronic disease, eight died, and one underwent liver transplantation within 6 months after onset. Blood PPAs were detectable in 24 of 40 patients with concentrations from 0.05 to 74.4 nM. Sensitivity and specificity of the test for diagnosis of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-associated HSOS were 100% (23/23) and 94.1% (23/24), respectively. The positive predictive value was 95.8% and the negative predictive value was 100%, whereas the positive likelihood ratio was 23.81. The level of blood PPAs in the severe group (died or received liver transplantation) was significantly higher than that in the recovery/chronicity group (P=0.004). Blood PPAs measured by ultra-performance liquid

Independent Recruitment of a Flavin-Dependent Monooxygenase for Safe Accumulation of Sequestered Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Grasshoppers and Moths

OpenAIRE

Wang, Linzhu; Beuerle, Till; Timbilla, James; Ober, Dietrich

2012-01-01

Several insect lineages have developed diverse strategies to sequester toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids from food-plants for their own defense. Here, we show that in two highly divergent insect taxa, the hemimetabolous grasshoppers and the holometabolous butterflies, an almost identical strategy evolved independently for safe accumulation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. This strategy involves a pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenase that transfers the pyrrolizidine alkaloids to their respective N-oxide,...

Recognition of pyrrolizidine alkaloid esters in the invasive aquatic plant Gymnocoronis spilanthoides (Asteraceae)

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Introduction – The freshwater aquatic plant Gymnocoronis spilanthoides (Senegal tea plant, jazmín del bañado, Falscher Wasserfreund) is an invasive plant in many countries. Behavioural observations of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-pharmacophagous butterflies suggested the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloid...

Diversity of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in the Boraginaceae Structures, Distribution, and Biological Properties

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Assem El-Shazly

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Among the diversity of secondary metabolites which are produced by plants as means of defence against herbivores and microbes, pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs are common in Boraginaceae, Asteraceae and some other plant families. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are infamous as toxic compounds which can alkylate DNA und thus cause mutations and even cancer in herbivores and humans. Almost all genera of the family Boraginaceae synthesize and store this type of alkaloids. This review reports the available information on the present status (literature up to early 2014 of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the Boraginaceae and summarizes the topics structure, distribution, chemistry, chemotaxonomic significance, and biological properties.

Toxicoproteomic assessment of liver responses to acute pyrrolizidine alkaloid intoxication in rats.

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Li, Yan-Hong; Tai, William Chi-Shing; Khan, Imran; Lu, Cheng; Lu, Yao; Wong, Wing-Yan; Chan, Wood-Yee; Wendy Hsiao, Wen-Luan; Lin, Ge

2018-04-03

A toxicoproteomic study was performed on liver of rats treated with retrorsine (RTS), a representative hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid at a toxic dose (140 mg/kg) known to cause severe acute hepatotoxicity. By comparing current data with our previous findings in mild liver lesions of rats treated with a lower dose of RTS, seven proteins and three toxicity pathways of vascular endothelial cell death, which was further verified by observed sinusoidal endothelial cell losses, were found uniquely associated with retrorsine-induced hepatotoxicity. This toxicoproteomic study of acute pyrrolizidine alkaloid intoxication lays a foundation for future investigation to delineate molecular mechanisms of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-induced hepatotoxicity.

Budd-Chiari syndrome secondary to toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid exposure.

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Wu, Janet S W; Poon, W T; Ma, C K; Chen, M L; Pang, K S; Mak, Tony W L; Chan, H B

2013-12-01

In this report, we describe a case of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-related Budd-Chiari syndrome in Hong Kong. A 10-month-old boy presented with ascites, right pleural effusion, and hepatomegaly after consumption of herbal drinks for 3 months. His clinical (including imaging) features were compatible with Budd-Chiari syndrome. Budd-Chiari syndrome is a rare disease entity in paediatric patients. In our case, extensive workup performed to look for the underlying cause of Budd-Chiari syndrome was unrevealing, except for toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid exposure in his herbal drinks.

Defensive properties of pyrrolizidine alkaloids against microorganisms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Joosten, L.; Van Veen, J.A.

2011-01-01

The understanding of the selection factors that drive chemical diversification of secondary metabolites of constitutive defence systems in plants, such as pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), is still incomplete. Historically, plants always have been confronted with microorganisms. Long before herbivores

Single cell subtractive transcriptomics for identification of cell-specifically expressed candidate genes of pyrrolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis.

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Sievert, Christian; Beuerle, Till; Hollmann, Julien; Ober, Dietrich

2015-09-01

Progress has recently been made in the elucidation of pathways of secondary metabolism. However, because of its diversity, genetic information concerning biosynthetic details is still missing for many natural products. This is also the case for the biosynthesis of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. To close this gap, we tested strategies using tissues that express this pathway in comparison to tissues in which this pathway is not expressed. As many pathways of secondary metabolism are known to be induced by jasmonates, the pyrrolizidine alkaloid-producing species Heliotropium indicum, Symphytum officinale, and Cynoglossum officinale of the Boraginales order were treated with methyl jasmonate. An effect on pyrrolizidine alkaloid levels and on transcript levels of homospermidine synthase, the first specific enzyme of pyrrolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis, was not detectable. Therefore, a method was developed by making use of the often observed cell-specific production of secondary compounds. H. indicum produces pyrrolizidine alkaloids exclusively in the shoot. Homospermidine synthase is expressed only in the cells of the lower leaf epidermis and the epidermis of the stem. Suggesting that the whole pathway of pyrrolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis might be localized in these cells, we have isolated single cells of the upper and lower epidermis by laser-capture microdissection. The resulting cDNA preparations have been used in a subtractive transcriptomic approach. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction has shown that the resulting library is significantly enriched for homospermidine-synthase-coding transcripts providing a valuable source for the identification of further genes involved in pyrrolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genotoxic Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids — Mechanisms Leading to DNA Adduct Formation and Tumorigenicity

OpenAIRE

Ming W. Chou; Ge Lin; Qingsu Xia; Peter P. Fu

2002-01-01

Abstract: Plants that contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids are widely distributed in the world. Although pyrrolizidine alkaloids have been shown to be genotoxic and tumorigenic in experimental animals, the mechanisms of actions have not been fully understood. The results of our recent mechanistic studies suggest that pyrrolizidine alkaloids induce tumors via a genotoxic mechanism mediated by 6,7-dihydro-7-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-5Hpyrrolizine (DHP)-derived DNA adduct formation. This mechanism may ...

6-Azido hyacinthacine A2 gives a straightforward access to the first multivalent pyrrolizidine architectures.

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D'Adamio, Giampiero; Parmeggiani, Camilla; Goti, Andrea; Moreno-Vargas, Antonio J; Moreno-Clavijo, Elena; Robina, Inmaculada; Cardona, Francesca

2014-08-28

The synthesis of the first multivalent pyrrolizidine iminosugars is reported. The key azido intermediates 4 and 31 were prepared after suitable synthetic elaboration of the cycloadduct obtained from 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of D-arabinose derived nitrone to dimethylacrylamide. The key step of the strategy was the stereoselective installation of an azido moiety at C-6 of the pyrrolizidine skeleton. The click reaction with different monovalent and dendrimeric alkyne scaffolds allowed the preparation of a library of new mono- and multivalent pyrrolizidine compounds that were preliminarily assayed as glycosidase inhibitors towards a panel of commercially available glycosyl hydrolases.

Tolerating Toxins: Grasshoppers that Feast on Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids §.

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Housecroft, Catherine E

2018-03-30

The elegant grasshopper (Zonocerus elegans) and the variegated grasshopper (Z. variegatus) are among insects that deliberately consume and store pyrrolizidine alkaloids which are subsequently used in defence mechanisms.

Blood pyrrole-protein adducts as a diagnostic and prognostic index in pyrrolizidine alkaloid-hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome

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Gao H

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Hong Gao,1,* Jianqing Q Ruan,2,* Jie Chen,1 Na Li,2 Changqiang Q Ke,3 Yang Ye,3–5 Ge Lin,2,4,5 Jiyao Y Wang1,61Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Biomedical Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; 3Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 4Joint Research Laboratory for Promoting Globalization of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, 5Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; 6Center of Evidence-Based Medicine Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this work and share first authorship Background: The diagnosis of hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS induced by pyrrolizidine alkaloids is mainly based on clinical investigation. There is currently no prognostic index. This study evaluated the quantitative measurement of blood pyrrole-protein adducts (PPAs as a diagnostic and prognostic index for pyrrolizidine alkaloid-induced HSOS.Methods: Suspected drug-induced liver injury patients were prospectively recruited. Blood PPAs were quantitatively measured using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Patients’ age, sex, biochemistry test results, and a detailed drug history were recorded. The patients were divided into two groups, ie, those with HSOS induced by pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing drugs and those with liver injury induced by drugs without pyrrolizidine alkaloids. The relationship between herb administration, clinical outcomes, blood sampling time, and blood PPA concentration in pyrrolizidine alkaloid-associated HSOS patients was analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis.Results: Forty patients met the entry criteria, among whom 23 had pyrrolizidine alkaloid-associated HSOS and 17 had liver injury caused by drugs without pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Among the 23�

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in honey: comparison of analytical methods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kempf, M.; Wittig, M.; Reinhard, A.; Ohe, von der K.; Blacquière, T.; Raezke, K.P.; Michel, R.; Schreier, P.; Beuerle, T.

2011-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a structurally diverse group of toxicologically relevant secondary plant metabolites. Currently, two analytical methods are used to determine PA content in honey. To achieve reasonably high sensitivity and selectivity, mass spectrometry detection is demanded. One

Safety assessment of food and herbal products containing hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids: interlaboratory consistency and the importance of N-oxide determination.

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Cao, Yu; Colegate, Steven M; Edgar, John A

2008-01-01

Two recent mass spectrometry-based reports concerning Senecio scandens yielded remarkably dissimilar pyrrolizidine alkaloid constituents. In both studies, and in a related analysis of Senecio scandens and Tussilago farfara using micellar electrokinetic chromatography, the presence of hazardous N-oxides of the alkaloids was either not considered or was inadequately considered. This raises concerns about the effectiveness of the methodologies used in these, and similar, studies in assessing the pyrrolizidine alkaloid content and the safety of food, food supplements and medicines for human use. To highlight essential analytical requirements for confident assessment of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-related safety of food and herbal products for human use. Direct infusion-ESI MS and HPLC-ESI MS were used to analyse samples derived from liquid-liquid partitioning experiments and from strong cation exchange, solid-phase extraction of pyrrolizidine alkaloids and their N-oxides. A simple solvent partitioning experiment using pure senecionine and senecionine-N-oxide, two constituents reported in one of the mass spectrometry-based studies of S. scandens, clearly demonstrated the inadequacy of the reported method to detect and quantitate hazardous pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxide components. A preliminary LCMS analysis of commercially-prepared extracts of comfrey roots (Symphytum officinale and S. uplandicum s. l.) was used as a model to highlight the analytical importance of N-oxides in the safety assessment of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing medicinal herbs. This study highlighted significant differences in the reported identification of pyrrolizidine alkaloids from the same plant species, and clearly demonstrated the inadequacy of some procedures to include N-oxides in the assessment of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-related safety of food and herbal products.

Evolutionary recruitment of a flavin-dependent monooxygenase for stabilization of sequestered pyrrolizidine alkaloids in arctiids.

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Langel, Dorothee; Ober, Dietrich

2011-09-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are secondary metabolites that are produced by certain plants as a chemical defense against herbivores. They represent a promising system to study the evolution of pathways in plant secondary metabolism. Recently, a specific gene of this pathway has been shown to have originated by duplication of a gene involved in primary metabolism followed by diversification and optimization for its specific function in the defense machinery of these plants. Furthermore, pyrrolizidine alkaloids are one of the best-studied examples of a plant defense system that has been recruited by several insect lineages for their own chemical defense. In each case, this recruitment requires sophisticated mechanisms of adaptations, e.g., efficient excretion, transport, suppression of toxification, or detoxification. In this review, we briefly summarize detoxification mechanism known for pyrrolizidine alkaloids and focus on pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxidation as one of the mechanisms allowing insects to accumulate the sequestered toxins in an inactivated protoxic form. Recent research into the evolution of pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxygenases of adapted arctiid moths (Lepidoptera) has shown that this enzyme originated by the duplication of a gene encoding a flavin-dependent monooxygenase of unknown function early in the arctiid lineage. The available data suggest several similarities in the molecular evolution of this adaptation strategy of insects to the mechanisms described previously for the evolution of the respective pathway in plants. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the food chain: development, validation, and application of a new HPLC-ESI-MS/MS sum parameter method.

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Cramer, Luise; Schiebel, Hans-Martin; Ernst, Ludger; Beuerle, Till

2013-11-27

Contamination of food and feed with pyrrolizidine alkaloids is currently discussed as a potential health risk. Here, we report the development of a new HPLC-ESI-MS/MS sum parameter method to quantitate the pyrrolizidine alkaloid content in complex food matrices. The procedure was validated for honey and culinary herbs. Isotopically labeled 7-O-9-O-dibutyroyl-[9,9-(2)H2]-retronecine was synthesized and utilized as an internal standard for validation and quantitation. The total pyrrolizidine alkaloid content of a sample is expressed as a single sum parameter: retronecine equivalents (RE). Ld/Lq for honey was 0.1 μg RE/kg/0.3 μg RE/kg. For culinary herbs, 1.0 μg RE/kg/3.0 μg RE/kg (dry weight, dw) and 0.1 μg RE/kg/0.3 μg RE/kg (fresh weight, fw) were determined, respectively. The new method was applied to analyze 21 herbal convenience products. Fifteen products (71%) were pyrrolizidine alkaloid positive showing pyrrolizidine alkaloid concentrations ranging from 0.9 to 74 μg RE/kg fw.

A survey of Senecio spp. affecting livestock in Uruguay and their associated pyrrolizidine alkaloid content

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Juan Agustín García

2018-02-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: In Eastern Uruguay there has been a significant increase of seneciosis in grazing livestock with most affected localities related to counties neighboring the Brazilian border. A survey in 28 farms associated with poisoning outbreaks in grazing cattle in Eastern Uruguay was carried out. Fifty populations of Senecio plants were collected for alkaloid analysis and species identification. Four species were identified: S. oxyphyllus DC, S. madagascariensis Poir, S. brasiliensis (Spreng. Less., and S. selloi DC. Alkaloids were identified by a combination of GC-MS and HPLC-MS analysis and included: retrorsine in S. oxyphyllus; retrorsine, usaramine, and senecivernine/senecionine in S. selloi; retrorsine, senecivernine/senecionine, integerrimine, and usaramine in S. madagascariensis; and integerrimine, retrorsine and senecionine in S. brasiliensis. Total mean alkaloid concentration was reported to be highest in S. brasiliensis (17.6mg/g followed by S. oxyphyllus (6.2mg/g, S. selloi (1.8mg/g and S. madagascariensis (0.6mg/g. Alkaloid concentrations were also reported to be higher in 2015 vs. 2016 probably due to a common environmental factor. The species S. oxyphyllus and S. madagascariensis were not previously recognized as toxic plants in Eastern Uruguay. Particularly, S. oxyphyllus was present in 82% of the farms surveyed and occurred in high density with relative high concentrations of pyrrolizidine alkaloids suggesting S. oxyphyllus may be the main species involved in the reported outbreaks of seneciosis.

Crotalaria medicaginea associated with horse deaths in northern Australia: new pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

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Fletcher, Mary T; Hayes, Patricia Y; Somerville, Michael J; De Voss, James J

2011-11-09

Crotalaria medicaginea has been implicated in horse poisoning in grazing regions of central-west Queensland, which resulted in the deaths of more than 35 horses from hepatotoxicosis in 2010. Liver pathology was suggestive of pyrrolizidine alkaloidosis, and we report here the isolation of two previously uncharacterized pyrrolizidine alkaloids from C. medicaginea plant specimens collected from pastures where the horses died. The first alkaloid was shown by mass spectometric and NMR analyses to be 1β,2β-epoxy-7β-hydroxy-1α-methoxymethyl-8α-pyrrolizidine, which, like other alkaloids previously isolated from C. medicaginea, lacks the requisite functionality for hepatotoxcity. The second alkaloid isolated in this investigation was a new macrocyclic diester of otonecine, which we have named cromedine. The (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra of cromedine were fully assigned by 2D NMR techniques and allowed the constitution of the macrocyclic diester to be assigned unambiguously. C. medicaginea specimens implicated in this investigation do not belong to any of the three recognized Australian varieties (C. medicaginea var. neglecta, C. medicaginea var. medicaginea, and C. medicaginea var. linearis) and appear to be a local variant or form, referred to here as C. medicaginea (chemotype cromedine).

Ornithine decarboxylase, polyamines, and pyrrolizidine alkaloids in senecio and crotalaria.

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Birecka, H; Birecki, M; Cohen, E J; Bitonti, A J; McCann, P P

1988-01-01

When tested for ornithine and arginine decarboxylases, pyrrolizidine alkaloid-bearing Senecio riddellii, S. longilobus (Compositae), and Crotalaria retusa (Leguminosae) plants exhibited only ornithine decarboxylase activity. This contrasts with previous studies of four species of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-bearing Heliotropium (Boraginaceae) in which arginine decarboxylase activity was very high relative to that of ornithine decarboxylase. Unlike Heliotropium angiospermum and Heliotropium indicum, in which endogenous arginine was the only detectable precursor of putrescine channeled into pyrrolizidines, in the species studied here-using difluoromethylornithine and difluoromethylarginine as the enzyme inhibitors-endogenous ornithine was the main if not the only precursor of putrescine converted into the alkaloid aminoalcohol moiety. In S. riddellii and C. retusa at flowering, ornithine decarboxylase activity was present mainly in leaves, especially the young ones. However, other very young organs such as inflorescence and growing roots exhibited much lower or very low activities; the enzyme activity in stems was negligible. There was no correlation between the enzyme activity and polyamine or alkaloid content in either species. In both species only free polyamines were detected except for C. retusa roots and inflorescence-with relatively very high levels of these compounds-in which conjugated putrescine, spermidine, and spermine were also found; agmatine was not identified by HPLC in any plant organ except for C. retusa roots with rhizobial nodules. Organ- or age-dependent differences in the polyamine levels were small or insignificant. The highest alkaloid contents were found in young leaves and inflorescence.

Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids from Onosmakaheirei Teppner (Boraginaceae

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Ioanna Maria Orfanou

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The new pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA 3΄-O-acetylechinatine N-oxide (7, along with two more known PAs (5, 6, two known flavonoids (3, 4, one known alkannin (1, two known triterpenoids, one known sterol, and allantoin (2 were isolated from the aerial parts of Onosma kaheirei. In addition, the retention indeces of the reduced PAs 6 and 7 were determined in a DB-5 WCOT column, to aid their detection by GC/MS in the future.

Activity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids against biofilm formation and Trichomonas vaginalis

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Crotalaria genus belongs to the subfamily Papilionoideae comprising about 600 species spread throughout tropical, neotropical and subtropical regions. In this study, seeds of Crolatalaria pallida were used to the isolation of usaramine, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid. Thus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Stap...

Metabolic activation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids leading to phototoxicity and photogenotoxicity in human HaCaT keratinocytes.

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Wang, Chia-Chi; Xia, Qingsu; Li, Meng; Wang, Shuguang; Zhao, Yuewei; Tolleson, William H; Yin, Jun-Jie; Fu, Peter P

2014-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, produced by a large number of poisonous plants with wide global distribution, are associated with genotoxicity, tumorigenicity, and hepatotoxicity in animals and humans. Mammalian metabolism converts pyrrolizidine alkaloids to reactive pyrrolic metabolites (dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids) that form covalent protein and DNA adducts. Although a mechanistic understanding is currently unclear, pyrrolizidine alkaloids can cause secondary (hepatogenous) photosensitization and induce skin cancer. In this study, the phototoxicity of monocrotaline, riddelliine, dehydromonocrotaline, dehydroriddelliine, and dehydroretronecine (DHR) in human HaCaT keratinocytes under ultraviolet A (UVA) irradiation was determined. UVA irradiation of HaCaT cells treated with dehydromonocrotaline, dehydroriddelline, and DHR resulted in increased release of lactate dehydrogenase and enhanced photocytotoxicity proportional to the UVA doses. UVA-induced photochemical DNA damage also increased proportionally with dehydromonocrotaline and dehydroriddelline. UVA treatment potentiated the formation of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine DNA adducts induced by dehydromonocrotaline in HaCaT skin keratinocytes. Using electron spin resistance trapping, we found that UVA irradiation of dehydromonocrotaline and dehydroriddelliine generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), including hydroxyl radical, singlet oxygen, and superoxide, and electron transfer reactions, indicating that cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of these compounds could be mediated by ROS. Our results suggest that dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids formed or delivered to the skin cause pyrrolizidine alkaloid-induced secondary photosensitization and possible skin cancer.

Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid-Protein Adducts: Potential Non-invasive Biomarkers of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid-Induced Liver Toxicity and Exposure.

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Xia, Qingsu; Zhao, Yuewei; Lin, Ge; Beland, Frederick A; Cai, Lining; Fu, Peter P

2016-08-15

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are phytochemicals present in hundreds of plant species from different families widely distributed in many geographical regions around the world. PA-containing plants are probably the most common type of poisonous plants affecting livestock, wildlife, and humans. There have been many large-scale human poisonings caused by the consumption of food contaminated with toxic PAs. PAs require metabolic activation to generate pyrrolic metabolites to exert their toxicity. In this study, we developed a novel method to quantify pyrrole-protein adducts present in the blood. This method involves the use of AgNO3 in acidic ethanol to cleave the thiol linkage of pyrrole-protein (DHP-protein) adducts, and the resulting 7,9-di-C2H5O-DHP is quantified by HPLC-ES-MS/MS multiple reaction monitoring analysis in the presence of a known quantity of isotopically labeled 7,9-di-C2D5O-DHP internal standard. Using this method, we determined that diester-type PAs administered to rats produced higher levels of DHP-protein adducts than other types of PAs. The results suggest that DHP-protein adducts can potentially serve as minimally invasive biomarkers of PA exposure.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids and diterpenes from Villasenoria orcuttii

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arciniegas, Amira; Perez-Castorena, Ana L.; Gonzalez, Karina; Vivar, Alfonso Romo de, E-mail: alperezc@unam.mx [Instituto de Quimica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacan, DF (Mexico); Reyes-Lezama, Marisol [Centro Conjunto de Investigacion en Quimica Sustentable, Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico-Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UAEM-UNAM), Carretera Toluca-Atlacomulco, Estado de Mexico (Mexico); Villasenor, Jose Luis [Instituto de Biologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacan, DF, (Mexico)

2013-07-15

The chemical study of Villasenoria orcuttii, the only species of the genus Villasenoria, afforded three acyclic diterpenes, two of them described for the first time. Two pyrrolizidine alkaloids, florosenine and floridanine, among other known compounds were also isolated. The absolute configuration of floridanine was determined by X-ray analysis using anomalous dispersion with Cu K{sub {alpha}} radiation, and its {sup 1}H and {sup 13}C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data were corrected. (author)

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids and diterpenes from Villasenoria orcuttii

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arciniegas, Amira; Pérez-Castorena, Ana L.; González, Karina; Vivar, Alfonso Romo de; Reyes-Lezama, Marisol; Villaseñor, José Luis

2013-01-01

The chemical study of Villasenoria orcuttii, the only species of the genus Villasenoria, afforded three acyclic diterpenes, two of them described for the first time. Two pyrrolizidine alkaloids, florosenine and floridanine, among other known compounds were also isolated. The absolute configuration of floridanine was determined by X-ray analysis using anomalous dispersion with Cu K α radiation, and its 1 H and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data were corrected. (author)

Induction of Morphological Changes in Human Embryo Liver Cells by the Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Lasiocarpine

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Armstrong, Sylvia J.; Zuckerman, A. J.; Bird, R. G.

1972-01-01

The pyrrolizidine alkaloids have been implicated in the aetiology of liver disease in man and in animals. Studies of the effects of lasiocarpine indicate that they have several and perhaps independent effects on human liver cells in culture. These may be summarized as follows: 1. Nuclear and nucleolar changes which are probably related to the alkylation of DNA and ensuing inhibition of nucleic acid and protein synthesis. 2. The induction of possible chromosomal damage and mutation. 3. A generalized reduction of the metabolic activities of the cells due to membrane and mitochondrial damage, and to alkylation and inactivation of cell enzymes and proteins. 4. A long-term inhibition of mitosis leading to the formation of giant cells (“megalocytes”). The morphological effects induced by a number of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids were very similar but the pattern of metabolic changes varied somewhat. It is believed that the hepatotoxic effects are not due to the pyrrolizidine alkaloids themselves but to metabolic derivatives formed by the cell. ImagesFigs. 3-5Figs. 1-2 PMID:5032090

Detection of high levels of pyrrolizidine-N-oxides in the endangered plant Cryptantha crassipes (Terlingua Creek cat's-eye) using HPLC-ESI-MS.

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Williams, Maria T; Warnock, Bonnie J; Betz, Joseph M; Beck, John J; Gardner, Dale R; Lee, Stephen T; Molyneux, Russell J; Colegate, Steven M

2011-01-01

A previous investigation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids produced by nine species of Cryptantha identified at least two chemotypes within the genus. Other research has postulated that pyrrolizidine-N-oxide concentrations increase as the growing conditions become harsher, particularly with respect to water availability. Cryptantha crassipes is an endangered plant with a very limited distribution range within a dry, harsh Texan ecosystem. To determine the pyrrolizidine alkaloid (and their N-oxides) profile and concentrations in Cryptantha crassipes. Methanolic extracts of Cryptantha crassipes were partitioned into dilute sulphuric acid and the alkaloids concentrated using strong cation exchange, solid-phase extraction columns. Extracts were analysed using reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionisation ion trap mass spectrometry. The N-oxides of lycopsamine and intermedine were the major pyrrolizidine alkaloids detected in Cryptantha crassipes. Smaller to trace amounts of other pyrrolizidine alkaloids observed were: the 7- and 3'-acetylated derivatives and the 1,2-dihydro analogs of lycopsamine-N-oxide and/or intermedine-N-oxide; a pair of unidentified N-oxides, isobaric with lycopsamine-N-oxide; and the N-oxides of leptanthine, echimiplatine, amabiline, echiumine and dihydroechiumine. Only trace amounts, if any, of the parent free base pyrrolizidine alkaloids were detected. The concentration of pyrrolizidine alkaloids was estimated to be 3-5% of the dry weight of milled leaves, or 10-50 times the levels previously reported for similar chemotypes. The high levels of the N-oxides of lycopsamine and intermedine establish the genus chemotype of the endangered Cryptantha crassipes and support earlier data linking high levels of N-oxides to dry, harsh growing conditions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids of Senecio sp from Peru

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruiz Vasquez, Liliana; Reina Artiles, Matias; Gonzalez Coloma, Azucena; Cabrera Perez, Raimundo; Ruiz Mesia, Lastenia

2011-01-01

Six pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) (two saturated macrocyclic, three unsaturated macrocyclic and one unsaturated seco-macrocyclic) were isolated from native Peruvian Senecio species. The structures of these alkaloids were established by a complete NMR spectroscopic analysis, chemical transformations and comparison of their NMR data with those published for similar alkaloids. Three PAs were then tested for antifungal activity against Fusarium moniliforme, F. (Sheldon), F. oxysporum fs. lycopersici (Scheldt) and F. solani (Mart), no significant activity being observed. (author)

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids of Senecio sp from Peru

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruiz Vasquez, Liliana; Reina Artiles, Matias [Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiologia, CSIC, Tenerife (Spain); Gonzalez Coloma, Azucena [Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (ICA), CSIC, Madrid (Spain); Cabrera Perez, Raimundo [Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), Tenerife (Spain). Unidad de Fitopatologia, Facultad de Biologia; Ruiz Mesia, Lastenia [Universidad Nacional de la Amazonia Peruana (LIPNAA-UNAP), AA.HH. Nuevo San Lorenzo, San Juan, Iquitos (Peru). Lab. de Investigacion en Productos Naturales Antiparasitarios de la Amazonia

2011-07-01

Six pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) (two saturated macrocyclic, three unsaturated macrocyclic and one unsaturated seco-macrocyclic) were isolated from native Peruvian Senecio species. The structures of these alkaloids were established by a complete NMR spectroscopic analysis, chemical transformations and comparison of their NMR data with those published for similar alkaloids. Three PAs were then tested for antifungal activity against Fusarium moniliforme, F. (Sheldon), F. oxysporum fs. lycopersici (Scheldt) and F. solani (Mart), no significant activity being observed. (author)

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids of senecio sp from Peru

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Liliana Ruiz Vásquez and Matías Reina Artiles

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Six pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs (two saturated macrocyclic, three unsaturated macrocyclic and one unsaturated seco-macrocyclic were isolated from native Peruvian Senecio species. The structures of these alkaloids were established by a complete NMR spectroscopic analysis, chemical transformations and comparison of their NMR data with those published for similar alkaloids. Three PAs were then tested for antifungal activity against Fusarium moniliforme, F. (Sheldon, F. oxysporum fs. lycopersici (Scheldt and F. solani (Mart, no significant activity being observed.

Metabolic Activation of the Tumorigenic Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid, Retrorsine, Leading to DNA Adduct Formation In Vivo

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Ming W. Chou

2005-04-01

Full Text Available Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are naturally occurring genotoxic chemicals produced by a large number of plants. The high toxicity of many pyrrolizidine alkaloids has caused considerable loss of free-ranging livestock due to liver and pulmonary lesions. Chronic exposure of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids to laboratory animals induces cancer. This investigation studies the metabolic activation of retrorsine, a representative naturally occurring tumorigenic pyrrolizidine alkaloid, and shows that a genotoxic mechanism is correlated to the tumorigenicity of retrorsine. Metabolism of retrorsine by liver microsomes of F344 female rats produced two metabolites, 6, 7-dihydro-7-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-5H-pyrrolizine (DHP, at a rate of 4.8 ± 0.1 nmol/mg/min, and retrorsine-N-oxide, at a rate of 17.6±0.5 nmol/mg/min. Metabolism was enhanced 1.7-fold by using liver microsomes prepared from dexamethasone-treated rats. DHP formation was inhibited 77% and retrorsine N-oxide formation was inhibited 29% by troleandomycin, a P450 3A enzyme inhibitor. Metabolism of retrorsine with lung, kidney, and spleen microsomes from dexamethasone-treated rats also generated DHP and the N-oxide derivative. When rat liver microsomal metabolism of retrorsine occurred in the presence of calf thymus DNA, a set of DHP-derived DNA adducts was formed; these adducts were detected and quantified by using a previously developed 32P-postlabeling/HPLC method. These same DNA adducts were also found in liver DNA of rats gavaged with retrorsine. Since DHP-derived DNA adducts are suggested to be potential biomarkers of riddelliine-induced tumorigenicity, our results indicate that (i similar to the metabolic activation of riddelliine, the mechanism of retrorsine-induced carcinogenicity in rats is also through a genotoxic mechanism involving DHP; and (ii the set of DHP-derived DNA adducts found in liver DNA of rats gavaged with retrorsine or riddelliine can serve as biomarkers for the

Metabolic Activation of the Tumorigenic Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid, Retrorsine, Leading to DNA Adduct Formation In Vivo

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Wang, Yu-Ping; Fu, Peter P.; Chou, Ming W.

2005-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are naturally occurring genotoxic chemicals produced by a large number of plants. The high toxicity of many pyrrolizidine alkaloids has caused considerable loss of free-ranging livestock due to liver and pulmonary lesions. Chronic exposure of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids to laboratory animals induces cancer. This investigation studies the metabolic activation of retrorsine, a representative naturally occurring tumorigenic pyrrolizidine alkaloid, and shows that a genotoxic mechanism is correlated to the tumorigenicity of retrorsine. Metabolism of retrorsine by liver microsomes of F344 female rats produced two metabolites, 6, 7-dihydro-7-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-5H-pyrrolizine (DHP), at a rate of 4.8 ± 0.1 nmol/mg/min, and retrorsine-N-oxide, at a rate of 17.6±0.5 nmol/mg/min. Metabolism was enhanced 1.7-fold by using liver microsomes prepared from dexamethasone-treated rats. DHP formation was inhibited 77% and retrorsine N-oxide formation was inhibited 29% by troleandomycin, a P450 3A enzyme inhibitor. Metabolism of retrorsine with lung, kidney, and spleen microsomes from dexamethasone-treated rats also generated DHP and the N-oxide derivative. When rat liver microsomal metabolism of retrorsine occurred in the presence of calf thymus DNA, a set of DHP-derived DNA adducts was formed; these adducts were detected and quantified by using a previously developed 32P-postlabeling/HPLC method. These same DNA adducts were also found in liver DNA of rats gavaged with retrorsine. Since DHP-derived DNA adducts are suggested to be potential biomarkers of riddelliine-induced tumorigenicity, our results indicate that (i) similar to the metabolic activation of riddelliine, the mechanism of retrorsine-induced carcinogenicity in rats is also through a genotoxic mechanism involving DHP; and (ii) the set of DHP-derived DNA adducts found in liver DNA of rats gavaged with retrorsine or riddelliine can serve as biomarkers for the tumorigenicity induced by

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Bulgarian species of the genus Senecio

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NADEZHDA KOSTOVA

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Nine Bulgarian species from the genus Senecio were studied phytochemically and/or by GC-MS analysis. Senecivernine-N-oxide was isolated and identified by spectral data for the first time. Different types of pyrrolizidine alkaloids were tested for cytotoxicity on murine lymphocytes. At a concentration of 100 µg/ml, the alkaloid retroisosenine showed immunosuppressive effect.

Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids: Chemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology and Food Safety.

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Moreira, Rute; Pereira, David M; Valentão, Patrícia; Andrade, Paula B

2018-06-05

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) are widely distributed in plants throughout the world, frequently in species relevant for human consumption. Apart from the toxicity that these molecules can cause in humans and livestock, PA are also known for their wide range of pharmacological properties, which can be exploited in drug discovery programs. In this work we review the current body of knowledge regarding the chemistry, toxicology, pharmacology and food safety of PA.

Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids from Symphytum sylvaticum Boiss. subsp. sepulcrale. (Boiss.& Bal.) Greuter & Burdetvar. sepulcrale and Symphytum aintabicum Hub.- Mor. & Wickens

OpenAIRE

KURUCU, Semra; KARTAL, Murat

2002-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloid (Echimidine-N-oxide) was isolated from Symphytum sylvaticum Boiss. subsp. sepulcrale (Boiss. & Bal.) Greuter & Burdet var. sepulcrale and pyrrolizidine alkaloid (Echimidine) was isolated from Symphytum aintabicum Hub. - Mor. & Wickens. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated based on IR, EIMS, 1H, and 13C NMR analysis and also on 2D NMR (COSY, HMBC, HMQC) experiments.

Analysis, separation, and bioassay of pyrrolizidine alkaloids from comfrey (Symphytum officinale).

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Couet, C E; Crews, C; Hanley, A B

1996-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids have been linked to liver and lung cancers and a range of other deleterious effects. As with many natural toxicants, major problems arise in determining the effects of the different members of the class and the importance of various forms of ingestion. In this study we have investigated the levels of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in comfrey (Symphytum officinale), determined the levels in different parts of the plant and in herbal remedies, separated the alkaloids into two main groups--the principal parent alkaloids and the corresponding N-oxides--and, finally, carried out a simple bioassay based upon the mutagenic capability of the separated compounds in a human cell line. We conclude that the part of the plant ingested is important in terms of alkaloid challenge and that the effect of two of the major groups of alkaloids individually is different from that of alkaloids in the whole plant extract.

Structure, Biosynthesis, and Occurrence of Bacterial Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids.

Science.gov (United States)

Schimming, Olivia; Challinor, Victoria L; Tobias, Nicholas J; Adihou, Hélène; Grün, Peter; Pöschel, Laura; Richter, Christian; Schwalbe, Harald; Bode, Helge B

2015-10-19

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are widespread plant natural products with potent toxicity and bioactivity. Herein, the identification of bacterial PAs from entomopathogenic bacteria using differential analysis by 2D NMR spectroscopy (DANS) and mass spectrometry is described. Their biosynthesis was elucidated to involve a non-ribosomal peptide synthetase. The occurrence of these biosynthesis gene clusters in Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria indicates an important biological function in bacteria. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Quantification of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in North American plants and honey by LC-MS: single laboratory validation.

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Mudge, Elizabeth M; Jones, A Maxwell P; Brown, Paula N

2015-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a class of naturally occurring compounds produced by many flowering plants around the World. Their presence as contaminants in food systems has become a significant concern in recent years. For example, PAs are often found as contaminants in honey through pollen transfer. A validated method was developed for the quantification of four pyrrolizidine alkaloids and one pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxide in plants and honey grown and produced in British Columbia. The method was optimised for extraction efficiency from the plant materials and then subjected to a single-laboratory validation to assess repeatability, accuracy, selectivity, LOD, LOQ and method linearity. The PA content in plants ranged from1.0 to 307.8 µg/g with repeatability precision between 3.8 and 20.8% RSD. HorRat values were within acceptable limits and ranged from 0.62 to 1.63 for plant material and 0.56-1.82 for honey samples. Method accuracy was determined through spike studies with recoveries ranging from 84.6 to 108.2% from the raw material negative control and from 82.1-106.0 % for the pyrrolizidine alkaloids in corn syrup. Based on the findings in this single-laboratory validation, this method is suitable for the quantitation of lycopsamine, senecionine, senecionine N-oxide, heliosupine and echimidine in common comfrey (Symphytum officinale), tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), blueweed (Echium vulgare) and hound's tongue (Cynoglossum officinale) and for PA quantitation in honey and found that PA contaminants were present at low levels in BC honey.

Heliotropium europaeum Poisoning in Cattle and Analysis of its Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Profile

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shimshoni, J.A.; Mulder, P.P.J.; Bouznach, A.; Edery, N.; Pasval, I.; Barel, S.; Khaliq, M.A.E.; Perl, S.

2015-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are carcinogenic and genotoxic phytochemicals found exclusively in angiosperms. The ingestion of PA-containing plants often results in acute and chronic toxicities in man and livestock, targeting mainly the liver. During February 2014, a herd of 15-18-month-old

Identification of Toxic Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids and Their Common Hepatotoxicity Mechanism

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Xinmiao Yan

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids (PAs are currently one of the most important botanical hepatotoxic ingredients. Glutathion (GSH metabolism is the most reported pathway involved in hepatotoxicity mechanism of PAs. We speculate that, for different PAs, there should be a common mechanism underlying their hepatotoxicity in GSH metabolism. Computational methods were adopted to test our hypothesis in consideration of the limitations of current experimental approaches. Firstly, the potential targets of 22 PAs (from three major PA types in GSH metabolism were identified by reverse docking; Secondly, glutathione S-transferase A1 (GSTA1 and glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1 targets pattern was found to be a special characteristic of toxic PAs with stepwise multiple linear regressions; Furthermore, the molecular mechanism underlying the interactions within toxic PAs and these two targets was demonstrated with the ligand-protein interaction analysis; Finally, GSTA1 and GPX1 were proved to be significant nodes in GSH metabolism. Overall, toxic PAs could be identified by GSTA1 and GPX1 targets pattern, which suggests their common hepatotoxicity mechanism: the interfering of detoxication in GSH metabolism. In addition, all the strategies developed here could be extended to studies on toxicity mechanism of other toxins.

Identification of Toxic Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids and Their Common Hepatotoxicity Mechanism.

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Yan, Xinmiao; Kang, Hong; Feng, Jun; Yang, Yiyan; Tang, Kailin; Zhu, Ruixin; Yang, Li; Wang, Zhengtao; Cao, Zhiwei

2016-03-07

Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids (PAs) are currently one of the most important botanical hepatotoxic ingredients. Glutathion (GSH) metabolism is the most reported pathway involved in hepatotoxicity mechanism of PAs. We speculate that, for different PAs, there should be a common mechanism underlying their hepatotoxicity in GSH metabolism. Computational methods were adopted to test our hypothesis in consideration of the limitations of current experimental approaches. Firstly, the potential targets of 22 PAs (from three major PA types) in GSH metabolism were identified by reverse docking; Secondly, glutathione S-transferase A1 (GSTA1) and glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1) targets pattern was found to be a special characteristic of toxic PAs with stepwise multiple linear regressions; Furthermore, the molecular mechanism underlying the interactions within toxic PAs and these two targets was demonstrated with the ligand-protein interaction analysis; Finally, GSTA1 and GPX1 were proved to be significant nodes in GSH metabolism. Overall, toxic PAs could be identified by GSTA1 and GPX1 targets pattern, which suggests their common hepatotoxicity mechanism: the interfering of detoxication in GSH metabolism. In addition, all the strategies developed here could be extended to studies on toxicity mechanism of other toxins.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in food and feed on the Belgian market.

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Huybrechts, Bart; Callebaut, Alfons

2015-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are widely distributed plant toxins with species dependent hepatotoxic, carcinogenic, genotoxic and pneumotoxic risks. In a recent European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) opinion, only two data sets from one European country were received for honey, while one feed data set was included. No data are available for food or feed samples from the Belgian market. We developed an LC-MS/MS method, which allowed the detection and quantification of 16 PAs in a broad range of matrices in the sub ng g(-1) range. The method was validated in milk, honey and hay and applied to honey, tea (Camellia sinensis), scented tea, herbal tea, milk and feed samples bought on the Belgian market. The results confirmed that tea, scented tea, herbal tea and honey are important food sources of pyrrolizidine alkaloid contamination in Belgium. Furthermore, we detected PAs in 4 of 63 commercial milk samples. A high incidence rate of PAs in lucerne (alfalfa)-based horse feed and in rabbit feed was detected, while bird feed samples were less contaminated. We report for the first time the presence of monocrotaline, intermedine, lycopsamine, heliotrine and echimidine in cat food.

The effects of comfrey derived pyrrolizidine alkaloids on rat liver.

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Yeong, M L; Clark, S P; Waring, J M; Wilson, R D; Wakefield, S J

1991-01-01

Three groups of young adult rats were fed pyrrolizidine alkaloids derived from Russian comfrey to study the effects of the herb on the liver. Group I animals received a single dose of 200 mg/kg body wt, Group II 100 mg/kg three times a week for 3 weeks and Group III 50 mg/kg three times a week for 3 weeks. All rats showed light and electron-microscopic evidence of liver damage, the severity of which was dose dependent. There was swelling of hepatocytes and hemorrhagic necrosis of perivenular cells. There was a concomitant loss of sinusoidal lining cells with disruption of sinusoidal wall and the sinusoids were filled with cellular debris, hepatocyte organelles and red blood cells. Extravasation of red blood cells was evident. Terminal hepatic venules were narrowed by intimal proliferation, and in Group II and III, reiculin fibres radiated from these vessels. These appearances have been described in veno-occlusive disease due to pyrrolizidine alkaloids from other plant sources such as Senecio and Crotalaria. The safety of comfrey, a widely used herb, in relation to human consumption requires further investigation.

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Echium confusum Coincy.

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Benamar, Houari; Tomassini, Lamberto; Venditti, Alessandro; Marouf, Abderrazak; Bennaceur, Malika; Serafini, Mauro; Nicoletti, Marcello

2017-06-01

Four pyrrolizidine alkaloids, namely 7-O-angeloyllycopsamine N-oxide 1, echimidine N-oxide 2, echimidine 3 and 7-O-angeloylretronecine 4, were isolated for the first time from the whole plant ethanolic extract of Echium confusum Coincy, through bioassay-guided approach. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic means. All the isolates compounds showed moderate activities in inhibiting AChE, with IC50 0.276-0.769.

Risk assessment for pyrrolizidine alkaloids detected in (herbal) teas and plant food supplements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, Lu; Mulder, Patrick P.J.; Louisse, Jochem; Peijnenburg, Ad; Wesseling, Sebas; Rietjens, Ivonne M.C.M.

2017-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are plant metabolites present in some botanical preparations, with especially 1,2-unsaturated PAs being of concern because they are genotoxic carcinogens. This study presents an overview of tumour data on PAs and points of departure (PODs) derived from them,

Phytotoxicity Assessment of Certain Phytochemical Products Containing Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids

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Cristina Șeremet Oana

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Tussilago farfara (coltsfoot, Petasites hybridus (common butterbur, Senecio vernalis (eastern groundsel and Symphytum officinale (comfrey are species traditionally used in phytotherapy that besides the therapeutic compounds contain toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs. The aim of the paper is to determine the total PAs content and the phytotoxicity of the above species. Material and methods: The quantitative determination of pyrrolizidine alkaloids is based on the stoichiometric reaction of protonated alkaloids with methyl orange. In acidic conditions the dye is released from the complex and its color is assessed spectrophotometrically using a linear regression curve of senecionine as a standard. The phytotoxicity was assessed by Triticum bioassay that studies the effect of the extracts (0.001-5.00%, w/v upon root elongation (inhibitory concentration - IC50 and on the karyokinetic film. Results: The highest amount of total PAs was found in Senecio vernalis (654.8 ± 35.96 μg/g dry plant and the lowest in Petasites hybridus. The lowest IC50 was found for Tussilago farfara followed by Petasites hybridus, Senecio vernalis, and Symphytum officinale. The results were supported by microscopic examination. Conclusions: The results of the spectrophotometric assay are consistent with the ones found in the literature. All extracts inhibited the elongation of the main root of wheat caryopses, however, no correlation between phytotoxicity and the PAs concentration could be emphasized

The synthesis of 3H-putrescine and subsequent biosynthesis of 3H-jacobine, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid from Senecio jacobaea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reed, R.L.; Buhler, D.R.; Oregon State Univ., Corvallis

1988-01-01

A new method was developed for the preparation of tritiated putrescine dihydrochloride ([2,3- 3 H]-1,4-diaminobutane dihydro-chloride) from succinonitrile (1,4-butanedinitrile) and 3 H 2 O, with a radiochemical yield of 16%. Tritiated jacobine and other pyrrolizidine alkaloids were then biosynthesized in Senecio jacobaea using 3 H-putrescine-2HCl as the precursor with a radiochemical yield of 0.9% into total pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Jacobine accounted for 36% of the total. This synthetic method provides a relatively inexpensive source for the preparation of these labelled compounds. (author)

Pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing toxic plants (Scenecio, Crotalaria, Cynoglossum, Amsinckia, Heliotropium, and Echium spp.)

Science.gov (United States)

Pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) containing plants are found throughout the world and are probably the most common plant cause of poisoning of livestock, wildlife and humans. PAs are potent liver toxins that under some conditions can be carcinogenic. The objective of this paper is to briefly introduce hi...

Pyrrolizidine alkaloid-derived DNA adducts are common toxicological biomarkers of pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxides.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xiaobo; Xia, Qingsu; Woodling, Kellie; Lin, Ge; Fu, Peter P

2017-10-01

There are 660 pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and PA N-oxides present in the plants, with approximately half being possible carcinogens. We previously reported that a set of four PA-derived DNA adducts is formed in the liver of rats administered a series of hepatocarcinogenic PAs and a PA N-oxide. Based on our findings, we hypothesized that this set of DNA adducts is a common biological biomarker of PA-induced liver tumor formation. In this study, we determined that rat liver microsomal metabolism of five hepatocarcinogenic PAs (lasiocarpine, retrorsine, riddelliine, monocrotaline, and heliotrine) and their corresponding PA N-oxides produced the same set of DNA adducts. Among these compounds, lasiocarpine N-oxide, retrorsine N-oxide, monocrotaline N-oxide, and heliotrine N-oxide are for first time shown to be able to produce these DNA adducts. These results further support the role of these DNA adducts as potential common biomarkers of PA-induced liver tumor initiation. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloid-derived DNA adducts are common toxicological biomarkers of pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxides

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaobo He

2017-10-01

Full Text Available There are 660 pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs and PA N-oxides present in the plants, with approximately half being possible carcinogens. We previously reported that a set of four PA-derived DNA adducts is formed in the liver of rats administered a series of hepatocarcinogenic PAs and a PA N-oxide. Based on our findings, we hypothesized that this set of DNA adducts is a common biological biomarker of PA-induced liver tumor formation. In this study, we determined that rat liver microsomal metabolism of five hepatocarcinogenic PAs (lasiocarpine, retrorsine, riddelliine, monocrotaline, and heliotrine and their corresponding PA N-oxides produced the same set of DNA adducts. Among these compounds, lasiocarpine N-oxide, retrorsine N-oxide, monocrotaline N-oxide, and heliotrine N-oxide are for first time shown to be able to produce these DNA adducts. These results further support the role of these DNA adducts as potential common biomarkers of PA-induced liver tumor initiation.

POISONING OF CHICKENS AND DUCKS BY PYRROLIZIDINE ALKALOIDS OF HELIOTROPIUM EUROPAEUM.

Science.gov (United States)

Pass, D A; Hogg, G G; Russell, R G; Edgar, J A; Tence, I M; Rikard-Bell, L

1979-05-01

The disease produced by feeding chickens and ducks a commercial poultry feed containing heliotrine and lasiocarpine, pyrrolizidine alkaloids of Heliotropium europaeum, is described. Illthrift, ascites and degenerative lesions in the liver were the major findings. Similar lesions occurred in chickens fed a diet containing H. europaeum. The source of the alkaloids in commercial poultry feed was probably the seeds of H. europaeum harvested with wheat.

Activity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids against biofilm formation and Trichomonas vaginalis.

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da Silva Negreiros Neto, Themístocles; Gardner, Dale; Hallwass, Fernando; Leite, Ana Jéssica Matias; de Almeida, Camila Guimarães; Silva, Laura Nunes; de Araújo Roque, Alan; de Bitencourt, Fernanda Gobbi; Barbosa, Euzébio Guimarães; Tasca, Tiana; Macedo, Alexandre José; de Almeida, Mauro Vieira; Giordani, Raquel Brandt

2016-10-01

Crotalaria genus belongs to the subfamily Papilionoideae comprising about 600 species spread throughout tropical, neotropical and subtropical regions. In this study, seeds of Crolatalaria pallida were used to the isolation of usaramine, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid. Thus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus epidermidis were utilized as strains to test some activities of this alkaloid, such as antibiofilm and antibacterial. Meanwhile, monocrotaline obtained from Crotalaria retusa seeds, was used as the starting material for synthesis of necine base derivatives with anti-Trichomonas vaginalis potential. Alkaloids were characterized by 1D and 2D NMR techniques and GC-MS analysis. Usaramine demonstrated a highlighted antibiofilm activity against S. epidermidis by reducing more than 50% of biofilm formation without killing the bacteria, thus it could be assumed as a prototype for the development of new antibiofilm molecules for pharmaceutical and industrial purposes. Monocrotaline activity against T. vaginalis was evaluated and results indicated inhibition of 80% on parasite growth at 1mg/mL, in addition, neither cytotoxicity against vaginal epithelial cells nor hemolytic activity were observed. On the other hand, retronecine showed no anti-T. vaginalis activity while azido-retronecine was more active than monocrotaline killing 85% of the parasites at 1mg/mL. In conclusion, pyrrolizidine alkaloids are suggested as promising prototypes for new drugs especially for topical use. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The Analysis of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Jacobaea vulgaris; a Comparison of Extraction and Detection Methods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Joosten, L.; Mulder, P.P.J.; Vrieling, K.; Veen, van der M.R.; Klinkhamer, P.G.L.

2010-01-01

Introduction – Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) serve an important function in plant defence. Objective – To compare different extraction methods and detection techniques, namely gas chromatography with nitrogen phosphorus detection (GC-NPD) and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)

Structural elucidation and NMR assignments of a new pyrrolizidine alkaloid from Crotalaria vitellina Ker Gawl.

Science.gov (United States)

Casimiro Bezerra, Denise Aline; Fechine Tavares, Josean; dos Santos, Paula Ferreira; Castello Branco, Marianna Vieira Sobral; de Fátima Agra, Maria; Subrinho, Fernanda Lima; Braz-Filho, Raimundo; da Silva, Marcelo Sobral

2013-08-01

A new pyrrolizidine alkaloid, named crotavitelin, was isolated from fruits of Crotalaria vitellina, Fabaceae (Papilionoideae). The structure was established by spectroscopic techniques such as one-dimensional and two-dimensional NMR, IR, and MS. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Homospermidine synthase, the first pathway-specific enzyme of pyrrolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis, evolved from deoxyhypusine synthase

Science.gov (United States)

Ober, Dietrich; Hartmann, Thomas

1999-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are preformed plant defense compounds with sporadic phylogenetic distribution. They are thought to have evolved in response to the selective pressure of herbivory. The first pathway-specific intermediate of these alkaloids is the rare polyamine homospermidine, which is synthesized by homospermidine synthase (HSS). The HSS gene from Senecio vernalis was cloned and shown to be derived from the deoxyhypusine synthase (DHS) gene, which is highly conserved among all eukaryotes and archaebacteria. DHS catalyzes the first step in the activation of translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A), which is essential for eukaryotic cell proliferation and which acts as a cofactor of the HIV-1 Rev regulatory protein. Sequence comparison provides direct evidence for the evolutionary recruitment of an essential gene of primary metabolism (DHS) for the origin of the committing step (HSS) in the biosynthesis of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. PMID:10611289

Livestock Poisoning with Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Containing Plants (Senecio, Crotalaria, Cynoglossum, Amsinckia, Heliotropium and Echium spp.)

Science.gov (United States)

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are potent liver toxins that have been identified in over 6,000 plants throughout the world. Alkaloids are nitrogen-based compounds with potent biological activity. About half of the identified PAs are toxic and several cause cancer (carcinogenic). PA-containing plants...

2,6-Lutidine-isatinecate, a semi-synthetic pyrrolizidine alkaloid: X-ray and n.m.r. studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drewes, S.E.; Field, J.S.; Pitchford, A.T.; Van Rooyen, P.H.; Dillen, J.L.M.

1985-01-01

A semi-synthetic pyrrolizidine alkaloid has been prepared from a necic acid and a pyridine base moiety. N.m.r. and X-ray analyses of this compound were carried out in order to establish the relationship between the structure and chemical shift

2,6-Lutidine-isatinecate, a semi-synthetic pyrrolizidine alkaloid: X-ray and N. M. R. studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Drewes, S.E.; Field, J.S.; Pitchford, A.T.; Van Rooyen, P.H.; Dillen, J.L.M.

1985-09-01

A semi-synthetic pyrrolizidine alkaloid has been prepared from a necic acid and a pyridine base moiety. N.M.R. and X-ray analyses of this compound were carried out in order to establish the relationship between the structure and chemical shift.

Quantitative analysis of total retronecine esters-type pyrrolizidine alkaloids in plant by high performance liquid chromatography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Fang; Wang Changhong; Xiong Aizhen; Wang Wan; Yang Li; Branford-White, Christopher J.; Wang Zhengtao; Bligh, S.W. Annie

2007-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are alkaloids which typically contain a necine (7-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-6,7-dihydro-5H-pyrrolizidine) base unit, and they can be found in one third of the higher plants around the world. They are hepatotoxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic and pose a threat to human health and safety. A specific, quick and sensitive method is therefore needed to detect and quantify the PAs sometimes in trace amount in herbs, tea or food products. Based on high performance liquid chromatography with prior derivatization of the alkaloids using o-chloranil and Ehrlich's reagent, we report an improved method for quantitative analysis of the total amount of retronecine esters-type pyrrolizidine alkaloids (RET-PAs) in a plant extract. The total quantitation of RET-PAs is achieved because of a common colored retronecine marker, a 7-ethoxy-1-ethoxylmethyl retronecine derivative, is produced with all the different RET-PAs during the derivatization reaction. The chemical identity of the common retronecine marker was characterized on-line by positive mode electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The limit of detection using the improved method is 0.26 nmol mL -1 and the limit of quantitation is 0.79 nmol mL -1 . The advantages of this method are much enhanced sensitivity in detection and quantitation, and, no restriction on the choice of RET-PA as a calibration standard. Application of the developed method to the quantitation of total RET esters-type PAs in Senecio scandens from different regions of China is also reported

Quantitative analysis of total retronecine esters-type pyrrolizidine alkaloids in plant by high performance liquid chromatography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang Fang; Wang Changhong; Xiong Aizhen; Wang Wan; Yang Li [Key Laboratory of Standardization of Chinese Medicines of Ministry of Education, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1200 Cai Lun Road, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai 201203 (China); Branford-White, Christopher J. [Institute for Health Research and Policy, London Metropolitan University, 166-220 Holloway Road, London N7 8DB (United Kingdom); Wang Zhengtao [Key Laboratory of Standardization of Chinese Medicines of Ministry of Education, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1200 Cai Lun Road, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai 201203 (China); School of Chinese Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210038 (China)], E-mail: wangzt@shutcm.edu.cn; Bligh, S.W. Annie [Institute for Health Research and Policy, London Metropolitan University, 166-220 Holloway Road, London N7 8DB (United Kingdom)], E-mail: a.bligh@londonmet.ac.uk

2007-12-12

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are alkaloids which typically contain a necine (7-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-6,7-dihydro-5H-pyrrolizidine) base unit, and they can be found in one third of the higher plants around the world. They are hepatotoxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic and pose a threat to human health and safety. A specific, quick and sensitive method is therefore needed to detect and quantify the PAs sometimes in trace amount in herbs, tea or food products. Based on high performance liquid chromatography with prior derivatization of the alkaloids using o-chloranil and Ehrlich's reagent, we report an improved method for quantitative analysis of the total amount of retronecine esters-type pyrrolizidine alkaloids (RET-PAs) in a plant extract. The total quantitation of RET-PAs is achieved because of a common colored retronecine marker, a 7-ethoxy-1-ethoxylmethyl retronecine derivative, is produced with all the different RET-PAs during the derivatization reaction. The chemical identity of the common retronecine marker was characterized on-line by positive mode electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The limit of detection using the improved method is 0.26 nmol mL{sup -1} and the limit of quantitation is 0.79 nmol mL{sup -1}. The advantages of this method are much enhanced sensitivity in detection and quantitation, and, no restriction on the choice of RET-PA as a calibration standard. Application of the developed method to the quantitation of total RET esters-type PAs in Senecio scandens from different regions of China is also reported.

7-N-Acetylcysteine-pyrrole conjugate-A potent DNA reactive metabolite of pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xiaobo; Ma, Liang; Xia, Qingsu; Fu, Peter P

2016-10-01

Plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are widespread throughout the world and are the most common poisonous plants affecting livestock, wildlife, and humans. PAs require metabolic activation to form reactive dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids (dehydro-PAs) that are capable of alkylating cellular DNA and proteins, form (±)-6,7-dihydro-7-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-5H-pyrrolizine (DHP)-DNA and DHP-protein adducts, and lead to cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and tumorigenicity. In this study, we determined that the metabolism of riddelliine and monocrotaline by human and rat liver microsomes in the presence of N-acetylcysteine both produced 7-N-acetylcysteine-DHP (7-NAC-DHP) and DHP. Reactions of 7-NAC-DHP with 2'-deoxyguanosine (dG), 2'-deoxyadenosine (dA), and calf thymus DNA in aqueous solution followed by enzymatic hydrolysis yielded DHP-dG and/or DHP-dA adducts. These results indicate that 7-NAC-DHP is a reactive metabolite that can lead to DNA adduct formation. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

7-N-Acetylcysteine-pyrrole conjugate—A potent DNA reactive metabolite of pyrrolizidine alkaloids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaobo He

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs are widespread throughout the world and are the most common poisonous plants affecting livestock, wildlife, and humans. PAs require metabolic activation to form reactive dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids (dehydro-PAs that are capable of alkylating cellular DNA and proteins, form (±-6,7-dihydro-7-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-5H-pyrrolizine (DHP-DNA and DHP-protein adducts, and lead to cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and tumorigenicity. In this study, we determined that the metabolism of riddelliine and monocrotaline by human and rat liver microsomes in the presence of N-acetylcysteine both produced 7-N-acetylcysteine-DHP (7-NAC-DHP and DHP. Reactions of 7-NAC-DHP with 2′-deoxyguanosine (dG, 2′-deoxyadenosine (dA, and calf thymus DNA in aqueous solution followed by enzymatic hydrolysis yielded DHP-dG and/or DHP-dA adducts. These results indicate that 7-NAC-DHP is a reactive metabolite that can lead to DNA adduct formation.

The first report of pyrrolizidine alkaloid poisoning in a gazelle (Gazella Subgutturosa) - histopathologic diagnosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Khordadmehr, Monireh; Rezazadeh, Fereydoon; Ashrafi-Helan, Javad; Hosseini-Ghomi, Mir Mohsen

2016-03-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are natural phytotoxins found in thousands of plant species around the world. They are probably the most common poisonous plants affecting livestock, wildlife and humans. The disease occurs almost entirely as a consequence of chronic poisoning and in general ends fatally. In the present study, PAs poisoning was investigated in a gazelle with hepatic encephalopathy associated with severe neurologic signs. The main clinical signs included head pressing, progressive depression and weakness, ataxia and reluctance to move, turn the head to the left and to paddle, hyperesthesia and decreased food intake. Histopathological examination revealed major lesions in the liver consisting of severe hepatocyte megalocytosis and hypertrophy with nuclei enlargement, mild bile duct hyperplasia, centriacinar fatty change and hepatocellular necrosis. Moreover, pulmonary congestion and edema with endothelium necrosis and alveolar septa thickening, severe congestion in vessels of the brain and meninges, and myocardial necrosis were observed.

Immunoassay approach for diagnosis of exposure to pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Na; Zhang, Fan; Lian, Wei; Wang, Huali; Zheng, Jiang; Lin, Ge

2017-07-03

Numerous pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) poisoning cases have been documented worldwide. Protein covalent binding with reactive metabolites generated from metabolic activation of PAs to form pyrrole-protein adducts is suggested to be a primary mechanism of PA-induced toxicities. The present study aimed to develop antibodies for diagnosis of PA exposure. Polyclonal antibodies were raised in rabbits and proven to specifically recognize pyrrole-protein adducts regardless of amino acid residues modified by the reactive metabolites of PAs. The developed antibodies were successfully applied to detect pyrrole-protein adducts in blood samples obtained from PA-treated rats and exhibited a potential for the clinical diagnosis of PA exposure.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Heliotropium transoxanum Bunge

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M. R. Delnavazi

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Background and objectives: The plants belonging to the genus Heliotropium L. (Boraginaceae are the main sources of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs. In the present study, we have investigated the PAs of the aerial parts of Heliotropium transoxanum Bunge, a perennial species native to Iran. Methods: Silica gel column chromatography and silica gel PTLC were applied for the isolation of PAs present in the total methanol extract of H. transoxanum. The structures of the isolated compounds were identified using 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and EIMS spectral analyses. Results: Three PAs, heliotrine (1, lasiocarpine (2 and heliotrine N-oxide (3,with known mutagenic and genotoxic properties, were isolated from the aerial parts of H. transoxanum. Conclusion: The results of this study on the presence of toxic PAs in H. transoxanum introduce this herb as a poisonous species and also suggest it as an appropriate source for the isolation of heliotrine and lasiocarpine for further toxicological and pharmacological studies.

Seasonal variation in pyrrolizidine alkaloid concentration and plant development in Senecio madagascariensis poir. (Asteraceae) in Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

This chapter presents the results of studies conducted in the municipality of Eldorado do Sul, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in July and October 2007 and January and May 2008 to measure the pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) concentrations of S. madagascariensis plant material (including leaves, flow...

In vitro biotransformation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in different species. Part I: Microsomal degradation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolrep, Franziska; Numata, Jorge; Kneuer, Carsten; Preiss-Weigert, Angelika; Lahrssen-Wiederholt, Monika; Schrenk, Dieter; These, Anja

2018-03-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) are secondary metabolites of certain flowering plants. The ingestion of PAs may result in acute and chronic effects in man and livestock with hepatotoxicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity being identified as predominant effects. Several hundred PAs sharing the diol pyrrolizidine as a core structure are formed by plants. Although many congeners may cause adverse effects, differences in the toxic potency have been detected in animal tests. It is generally accepted that PAs themselves are biologically and toxicologically inactive and require metabolic activation. Consequently, a strong relationship between activating metabolism and toxicity can be expected. Concerning PA susceptibility, marked differences between species were reported with a comparatively high susceptibility in horses, while goat and sheep seem to be almost resistant. Therefore, we investigated the in vitro degradation rate of four frequently occurring PAs by liver enzymes present in S9 fractions from human, pig, cow, horse, rat, rabbit, goat, and sheep liver. Unexpectedly, almost no metabolic degradation of any PA was observed for susceptible species such as human, pig, horse, or cow. If the formation of toxic metabolites represents a crucial bioactivation step, the found inverse conversion rates of PAs compared to the known susceptibility require further investigation.

The first report of pyrrolizidine alkaloid poisoning in a gazelle (Gazella Subgutturosa) – histopathologic diagnosis

Science.gov (United States)

Khordadmehr, Monireh; Ashrafi-Helan, Javad; Hosseini-Ghomi, Mir Mohsen

2016-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are natural phytotoxins found in thousands of plant species around the world. They are probably the most common poisonous plants affecting livestock, wildlife and humans. The disease occurs almost entirely as a consequence of chronic poisoning and in general ends fatally. In the present study, PAs poisoning was investigated in a gazelle with hepatic encephalopathy associated with severe neurologic signs. The main clinical signs included head pressing, progressive depression and weakness, ataxia and reluctance to move, turn the head to the left and to paddle, hyperesthesia and decreased food intake. Histopathological examination revealed major lesions in the liver consisting of severe hepatocyte megalocytosis and hypertrophy with nuclei enlargement, mild bile duct hyperplasia, centriacinar fatty change and hepatocellular necrosis. Moreover, pulmonary congestion and edema with endothelium necrosis and alveolar septa thickening, severe congestion in vessels of the brain and meninges, and myocardial necrosis were observed. PMID:28652845

Expedient pyrrolizidine synthesis by propargylsilane addition to N-acyliminium ions followed by gold-catalyzed α-allenyl amide cyclization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Breman, A.C.; Dijkink, J.; van Maarseveen, J.H.; Kinderman, S.S.; Hiemstra, H.

2009-01-01

A reaction sequence, involving the addition of (substituted) propargylsilanes to lactate-derived N-acyliminium ions followed by gold-catalyzed cyclization of the resulting alpha-allenyl amide, is applied in expedient syntheses of pyrrolizidine alkaloids heliotridine and ent-retronecine in five steps

Pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing toxic plants (Senecio, Crotalaria, Cynoglossum, Amsinckia, Heliotropium, and Echium spp.).

Science.gov (United States)

Stegelmeier, Bryan L

2011-07-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA)-containing plants are found throughout the world and are probably the most common plant cause of poisoning of livestock, wildlife, and humans. PAs are potent liver toxins that under some conditions can be carcinogenic. This article briefly introduces high-risk North American PA-containing plants, summarizing their toxicity and subsequent pathology. Current diagnostic techniques, treatments, and strategies to avoid losses to PA poisoning are also reviewed. Published by Elsevier Inc.

EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), 2016. Dietary exposure assessment to pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the European population

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Annette

Chronic and acute dietary exposure to pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) was estimated in the European population via the consumption of plant-derived foods. This resulted in highest estimates of mean chronic dietary exposure of 34.5–48.4 ng/kg body weight (bw) per day in ‘Toddlers’ (LB–UB) and 154...

Influence of grass pellet production on pyrrolizidine alkaloids occurring in Senecio aquaticus-infested grassland.

Science.gov (United States)

Gottschalk, Christoph; Ostertag, Johannes; Meyer, Karsten; Gehring, Klaus; Thyssen, Stefan; Gareis, Manfred

2018-04-01

1,2-Dehydro-pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) and their N-oxides (PANO) exhibit acute and chronic toxic effects on the liver and other organs and therefore are a hazard for animal and human health. In certain regions of Germany, an increasing spread of Senecio spp. (ragwort) on grassland and farmland areas has been observed during the last years leading to a PA/PANO-contamination of feed and food of animal and plant origin. This project was carried out to elucidate whether the process of grass pellet production applying hot air drying influences the content of PA and PANO. Samples of hay (n = 22) and grass pellets (n = 28) originated from naturally infested grassland (around 10% and 30% dominance of Senecio aquaticus) and from a trial plot with around 50% dominance. Grass pellets were prepared from grass originating from exactly the same plots as the hay samples. The samples were analysed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for PA/PANO typically produced by this weed. The results of the study revealed that PA/PANO levels (predominantly sum of senecionine, seneciphylline, erucifoline and their N-oxides) in hay ranged between 2.1 and 12.6 mg kg -1 dry matter in samples with 10% and 30% dominance of S. aquaticus, respectively. Samples from the trial plot (50% dominance) had levels of up to 52.9 mg kg -1 . Notably, the hot air drying process during the production of grass pellets did not lead to a reduction of PA/PANO levels. Instead, the levels in grass pellets with 10% and 30% S. aquaticus ranged from 3.1 to 55.1 mg kg -1 . Grass pellets from the trial plot contained up to 96.8 mg kg -1 . In conclusion, hot air drying and grass pellet production did not affect PA/PANO contents in plant material and therefore, heat-dried products cannot be regarded as safe in view of the toxic potential of 1,2-dehydro-pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

Anti-inflammatory Activity of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids from the Leaves of Madhuca pasquieri (Dubard).

Science.gov (United States)

Hoang, Le Son; Tran, Manh Hung; Lee, Joo Sang; To, Dao Cuong; Nguyen, Van Thu; Kim, Jeong Ah; Lee, Jeong Hyung; Woo, Mi Hee; Min, Byung Sun

2015-01-01

A novel pyrrolizidine alkaloids, madhumidine A (1), and two known alkaloids, lindelofidine benzoic acid ester (2) and minalobine B (3) were isolated from the leaves of Madhuca pasquieri (Dubard) H. J. LAM. The chemical structures of these alkaloids were established mainly by NMR techniques and mass spectrometry. Their anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated against lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide production in macrophage RAW264.7 cell. In addition, the cytotoxic activity of all isolated compounds was tested against a panel of cancer cell lines.

Simultaneous determination of sesquiterpenes and pyrrolizidine alkaloids from the rhizomes of Petasites hybridus (L.) G.M. et Sch. and dietary supplements using UPLC-UV and HPLC-TOF-MS methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Avula, Bharathi; Wang, Yan-Hong; Wang, Mei; Smillie, Troy J; Khan, Ikhlas A

2012-11-01

UPLC-UV and HPLC-TOF-MS methods have been developed for the analysis of major sesquiterpenes and pyrrolizidine alkaloids from rhizomes of Petasites hybridus (L.) G.M. et Sch. (Family, Asteracea) and dietary supplements claiming to contain P. hybridus. The best results were obtained with Acquity UPLC™ HSS T3 (100 mm × 2.1 mm, I.D., 1.8 μm) column system using a gradient elution with a mobile phase consisting of ammonium formate (50mM) and acetonitrile (0.05% formic acid) at a constant flow rate of 0.25 mL/min via UPLC-UV. The newly developed method was validated according to the ICH guidelines with respect to specificity, linearity, accuracy and precision. The limits of detection were found to be 5 μg/mL and 0.1 μg/mL for pyrrolizidine alkaloids and sesquiterpenes, respectively by UPLC-UV and 0.001 and 0.01 μg/mL, respectively using HPLC-TOF-MS. The methods were successfully used to analyze different P. hybridus market products, as well as to distinguish between two other Petasites species. The total content of petasins was found to be in the range of 0.02-11.6 mg/dosage form for 15 dietary supplements and no petasins were detected in an additional six dietary supplements. Additionally, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are considered to be toxic for the liver, were detected in seven dietary supplements. The amount of petasin in seven dietary supplements was found to be within limits of label claim and no pyrrolizidine alkaloids were detected. HPLC-mass spectrometry coupled with electrospray ionization (ESI) interface method is described for the identification and confirmation of sesquiterpenes and pyrrolizidine alkaloids from plant extracts and dietary supplements that claim to contain P. hybridus as well as different species of Petasites. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mortality supposedly due to intoxication by pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Heliotropium indicum in a horse population in Costa Rica: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

van Weeren, P R; Morales, J A; Rodríguez, L L; Cedeño, H; Villalobos, J; Poveda, L J

1999-04-01

This article describes a case of massive mortality among horses which was probably due to intoxication by pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Heliotropium indicum. Over 4 years more than 75% of a population of about 110 horses on a farm in Costa Rica died after showing nervous neurological symptoms. Two clinical manifestations were encountered, an acute and a chronic one, both with a fatal outcome. Pathological findings in 2 horses coincided with those reported in the literature for intoxication by pyrrolizidine alkaloids and were not specific for VEE. However Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) was the main differential diagnosis and could not completely be excluded because this disease was endemic in the region and VEE titres were found to be high. Taxonomic and toxicological investigations implicated Heliotropium indicum as the most probable principal cause of the intoxication.

Case Report. The first report of pyrrolizidine alkaloid poisoning in a gazelle (Gazella Subgutturosa – histopathologic diagnosis

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Khordadmehr Monireh

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs are natural phytotoxins found in thousands of plant species around the world. They are probably the most common poisonous plants affecting livestock, wildlife and humans. The disease occurs almost entirely as a consequence of chronic poisoning and in general ends fatally. In the present study, PAs poisoning was investigated in a gazelle with hepatic encephalopathy associated with severe neurologic signs. The main clinical signs included head pressing, progressive depression and weakness, ataxia and reluctance to move, turn the head to the left and to paddle, hyperesthesia and decreased food intake. Histopathological examination revealed major lesions in the liver consisting of severe hepatocyte megalocytosis and hypertrophy with nuclei enlargement, mild bile duct hyperplasia, centriacinar fatty change and hepatocellular necrosis. Moreover, pulmonary congestion and edema with endothelium necrosis and alveolar septa thickening, severe congestion in vessels of the brain and meninges, and myocardial necrosis were observed.

Interactive affective sharing versus non-interactive affective sharing in work groups : Comparative effects of group affect on work group performance and dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klep, Annefloor; Wisse, Barbara; Van Der Flier, Henk

This study explores whether the dynamic path to group affect, which is characterized by interactive affective sharing processes, yields different effects on task performance and group dynamics than the static path to group affect, which arises from non-interactive affective sharing. The results of

Interactive affective sharing versus non-interactive affective sharing in work groups: Comparative effects of group affect on work group performance and dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klep, A.H.M.; Wisse, B.M.; van der Flier, H.

2011-01-01

This study explores whether the dynamic path to group affect, which is characterized by interactive affective sharing processes, yields different effects on task performance and group dynamics than the static path to group affect, which arises from non-interactive affective sharing. The results of

Nonverbal synchrony and affect in dyadic interactions

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Wolfgang eTschacher

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In an experiment on dyadic social interaction, we invited participants to verbal interactions in cooperative, competitive, and 'fun task' conditions. We focused on the link between interactants' affectivity and their nonverbal synchrony, and explored which further variables contributed to affectivity: interactants' personality traits, sex, and the prescribed interaction tasks. Nonverbal synchrony was quantified by the coordination of interactants' body movement, using an automated video-analysis algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis, MEA. Traits were assessed with standard questionnaires of personality, attachment, interactional style, psychopathology and interpersonal reactivity. We included 168 previously unacquainted individuals who were randomly allocated to same-sex dyads (84 females, 84 males, mean age 27.3 years. Dyads discussed four topics of general interest drawn from an urn of eight topics, and finally engaged in a fun interaction. Each interaction lasted five minutes. In between interactions, participants repeatedly assessed their affect. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we found moderate to strong effect sizes for synchrony to occur, especially in competitive and fun task conditions. Positive affect was associated positively with synchrony, negative affect was associated negatively. As for causal direction, data supported the interpretation that synchrony entailed affect rather than vice versa. The link between nonverbal synchrony and affect was strongest in female dyads. The findings extend previous reports of synchrony and mimicry associated with emotion in relationships and suggest a possible mechanism of the synchrony-affect correlation.

Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids and Fatty Acids from the Endemic Plant Species Rindera umbellata and the Effect of Lindelofine-N-oxide on Tubulin Polymerization

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Vlatka V. Vajs

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The examination of the aerial parts, roots, and seeds of the endemic plant Rindera umbellata is reported in this paper for the first time. Phytochemical investigation of R. umbellata led to the isolation and characterization of ten pyrrolizidine alkaloids and eleven fatty acids in the form of triglycerides. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids 1–9 were found in the aerial parts, 7 and 8 in the roots, and 6–10, together with eleven fatty acids, in the seeds of this plant species. The structures of compounds 1–10 were established based on spectroscopic studies (1H- and 13C-NMR, 2D NMR, IR and CI-MS. After trans-esterification, methyl esters of the fatty acids were analyzed using GC-MS. The effect of lindelofine-N-oxide (7 on tubulin polymerization was determined.

Fate of pyrrolizidine alkaloids during processing of milk of cows treated with ragwort.

Science.gov (United States)

de Nijs, Monique; Mulder, Patrick P J; Klijnstra, Mirjam D; Driehuis, Frank; Hoogenboom, Ron L A P

2017-12-01

To investigate the fate of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) during milk processing, milk of cows treated via rumen fistula with a mixture of 84% (w/w) ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris, syn. Senecio jacobaea) and 16% narrow-leaved ragwort (Senecio inaequidens) was processed using laboratory scale heating systems with industrial settings. Pasteurised and sterilised (UHT) milk were produced, as well as set-type yoghurt and cheese. Samples were analysed for 29 PAs using LC-MS/MS, of which 11 PAs were detected above LOQ in the samples (0.1 µg l -1 ). Alterations in the PA concentration and composition between the standardised milk and the corresponding end-product(s) were evaluated. The heat treatments applied for pasteurisation and UHT sterilisation to prepare semi-skimmed consumption milk did not affect the PA levels in the end-products. In yoghurt, after fermentation of standardised milk (6 h, pH 4.4), 73% of total PAs were recovered. The PA concentration, specifically dehydrojacoline, was decreased, although not quantifiable, during cheese production. A further decrease of 38% during 6 weeks of ripening was observed. The results show that the PA concentration of natural contaminated cow's milk is not affected by heat treatment applied for pasteurised and sterilised milk, but that microbial fermentation of the milk leads to a lowered PA concentration in yoghurt and cheese. This is probably due to microbiological degradation, since PAs are fairly stable under acidic conditions.

Sesquiterpenes, flavonoids, shikimic acid derivatives and pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Senecio kingii Hook.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-Vásquez, Liliana; Reina, Matías; López-Rodríguez, M; Giménez, Cristina; Cabrera, Raimundo; Cuadra, Pedro; Fajardo, Víctor; González-Coloma, Azucena

2015-09-01

Twenty-four compounds including eleven eremophilanolides (1-11), one eremophilane (13), five shikimic acid derivatives (14-18), six flavonoids (19-24), and the macrocyclic unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloid integerrimine (25) were isolated from Senecio kingii, an endemic species from the Magallanes Region (Chile). Compounds 3, 5, 6, 8-11 and 13-18 have not been previously reported as natural products. Their molecular structures were determined by NMR spectroscopic analysis and comparison with published NMR data. An X-ray-analysis of compound 3 has been performed. Their insecticidal and antifungal activities were tested, being compound 3 the strongest insect antifeedant. Compounds 6, 9 and 18 were moderate antifungals. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1,3-Oxazin-6-one Derivatives and Bohemamine-Type Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids from a Marine-Derived Streptomyces spinoverrucosus.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Peng; La, Scott; MacMillan, John B

2016-03-25

Two new 1,3-oxazin-6-one derivatives (1 and 2) and six new bohemamine-type pyrrolizidine alkaloids (3-8) were isolated from the marine-derived Streptomyces spinoverrucosus strain SNB-048. Their structures including the absolute configurations were fully elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis, ECD spectra, quantum chemical calculations, and chemical methods. Compounds 1 and 2 possess a γ-lactam moiety and a 1,3-oxazin-6-one system.

The Role of Astrocytes in Metabolism and Neurotoxicity of the Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Monocrotaline, the Main Toxin of Crotalaria retusa

Science.gov (United States)

Pitanga, Bruno Penas Seara; Nascimento, Ravena P.; Silva, Victor Diógenes A.; Costa, Silvia L.

2012-01-01

The metabolic interactions and signaling between neurons and glial cells are necessary for the development and maintenance of brain functions and structures and for neuroprotection, which includes protection from chemical attack. Astrocytes are essential for cerebral detoxification and present an efficient and specific cytochrome P450 enzymatic system. Whilst Crotalaria (Fabaceae, Leguminosae) plants are used in popular medicine, they are considered toxic and can cause damage to livestock and human health problems. Studies in animals have shown cases of poisoning by plants from the genus Crotalaria, which induced damage to the central nervous system. This finding has been attributed to the toxic effects of the pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) monocrotaline (MCT). The involvement of P450 enzymatic systems in MCT hepatic and pulmonary metabolism and toxicity has been elucidated, but little is known about the pathways implicated in the bioactivation of these systems and the direct contribution of these systems to brain toxicity. This review will present the main toxicological aspects of the Crotalaria genus that are established in the literature and recent findings describing the mechanisms involved in the neurotoxic effects of MCT, which was extracted from Crotalaria retusa, and its interaction with neurons in isolated astrocytes. PMID:22876233

Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction

CERN Document Server

2012-01-01

2012 International Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction (ICACII 2012) was the most comprehensive conference focused on the various aspects of advances in Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction. The conference provided a rare opportunity to bring together worldwide academic researchers and practitioners for exchanging the latest developments and applications in this field such as Intelligent Computing, Affective Computing, Machine Learning, Business Intelligence and HCI.   This volume is a collection of 119 papers selected from 410 submissions from universities and industries all over the world, based on their quality and relevancy to the conference. All of the papers have been peer-reviewed by selected experts.  

Toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids provide a warning sign to overuse of the ethnomedicine Arnebia benthamii.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, Latif; He, Yi; Hao, Jia-Chen; Semotiuk, Andrew; Liu, Quan-Ru; Mazari, Paras

2018-01-10

From early times man has used medicinal plants for the treatment of various ailments and basic health care needs. The use of herbal medicines has increased day by day and with this, so do reports of adverse events, poisoning, and suspected toxicity. Similarly, the indigenous communities of Neelum Valley in Azad Kashmir commonly use Arnebia benthamii (Wall. ex G.Don) I.M.Johnst. for medicinal purposes to treat various human aliments. Besides their medicinal uses, it also contains hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). This explorative study underscores two major aspects about this herbal medicine. Firstly we aimed to document the traditional therapeutic uses of Arnebia benthamii in Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir. Secondly, to determine the presence or absence of hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids and if they are within the suggested limit for the use of herbs in excess. Interviews, group discussions, and inquiries were carried out from July to September 2016 with local indigenous and elder people. In the laboratory, the plant was investigated for pyrrolizidine alkaloids by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A total of 30 respondents were interviewed. They explained the preferred preparation, parts used, and treatment indications. Treatment of fever along with kidney and liver problems are the three principle uses. Among the different parts of Arnebia benthamii, 43% respondents preferred aerial parts for the herbal formulation, followed by whole plants, and leaves. Decoction was the major mode of preparation and all herbal preparations were administrated orally. This study reports, for the first time according to our literature review, a study of Arnebia benthamii with regard to PA determination. By using column Zorbax SB-Aq and acetonitrile-water gradient as the mobile phase, HPLC results showed that the aerial parts of the plant were PA positive, and (1) Europine, Heliotrine (2), Lycopsamine (3), and Echimidine (4) were identified. This study

Chemical Diversity Investigation of Hepatotoxic Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Qianliguang (Senecio scandens and Related Species by UHPLC-QTOF-MS

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Lin Zhu

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Objective: Qianliguang (Senecio scandens is a common Chinese medicinal herb. Qianliguang-containing herbal proprietary products are registered as over-the-counter remedies in China and exported to Western countries. The presence of hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs has raised concerns about the safety of using Qianliguang and its products. The present study aims at investigation of different types of PAs present in Qianliguang collected from representative locations in China.

Australine, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid that inhibits amyloglucosidase and glycoprotein processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tropea, J.E.; Molyneux, R.J.; Kaushal, G.P.; Pan, Y.T.; Mitchell, M.; Elbein, A.D.

1989-01-01

Australine is a polyhydroxylated pyrrolizidine alkaloid that was isolated from the seeds of the Australian tree Castanospermum australe and characterized by NMR and X-ray diffraction analysis. Since swainsonine and catanospermine are polyhydroxylated indolizidine alkaloids that inhibit specific glycosidases, the authors tested australine against a variety of exoglycosidases to determine whether it would inhibit any of these enzymes. This alkaloid proved to be a good inhibitor of the α-glucosidase amyloglucosidase (50% inhibition at 5.8 μM), but it did not inhibit β-glucosidase, α- or β-mannosidase, or α- or β-galactosidase. The inhibition of amyloglucosidase was of a competitive nature. Australine also inhibited the glycoprotein processing enzyme glucosidase I, but had only slight activity toward glucosidase II. When incubated with cultured cells, this alkaloid inhibited glycoprotein processing at the glucosidase I step and caused the accumulation of glycoproteins with Glc 3 Man 7-9 (GlcNAc) 2 -oligosaccharides

Mood Swings: An Affective Interactive Art System

Science.gov (United States)

Bialoskorski, Leticia S. S.; Westerink, Joyce H. D. M.; van den Broek, Egon L.

The progress in the field of affective computing enables the realization of affective consumer products, affective games, and affective art. This paper describes the affective interactive art system Mood Swings, which interprets and visualizes affect expressed by a person. Mood Swings is founded on the integration of a framework for affective movements and a color model. This enables Mood Swings to recognize affective movement characteristics as expressed by a person and display a color that matches the expressed emotion. With that, a unique interactive system is introduced, which can be considered as art, a game, or a combination of both.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloid variation in Senecio vulgaris populations from native and invasive ranges

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Viet-Thang; Ndihokubwayo, Noel; Ge, Jiwen; Mulder, Patrick P.J.

2017-01-01

Biological invasion is regarded as one of the greatest environmental problems facilitated by globalization. Some hypotheses about the invasive mechanisms of alien invasive plants consider the plant–herbivore interaction and the role of plant defense in this interaction. For example, the “Shift Defense Hypothesis” (SDH) argues that introduced plants evolve higher levels of qualitative defense chemicals and decreased levels of quantitative defense, as they are released of the selective pressures from specialist herbivores but still face attack from generalists. Common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris), originating from Europe, is a cosmopolitan invasive plant in temperate regions. As in other Senecio species, S. vulgaris contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) as characteristic qualitative defense compounds. In this study, S. vulgaris plants originating from native and invasive ranges (Europe and China, respectively) were grown under identical conditions and harvested upon flowering. PA composition and concentration in shoot and root samples were determined using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). We investigated the differences between native and invasive S. vulgaris populations with regard to quantitative and qualitative variation of PAs. We identified 20 PAs, among which senecionine, senecionine N-oxide, integerrimine N-oxide and seneciphylline N-oxide were dominant in the roots. In the shoots, in addition to the 4 PAs dominant in roots, retrorsine N-oxide, spartioidine N-oxide and 2 non-identified PAs were also prevalent. The roots possessed a lower PA diversity but a higher total PA concentration than the shoots. Most individual PAs as well as the total PA concentration were strongly positively correlated between the roots and shoots. Both native and invasive S. vulgaris populations shared the pattern described above. However, there was a slight trend indicating lower PA diversity and lower total PA concentration in invasive S. vulgaris

Pyrrolizidine alkaloid variation in Senecio vulgaris populations from native and invasive ranges

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Dandan Cheng

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Biological invasion is regarded as one of the greatest environmental problems facilitated by globalization. Some hypotheses about the invasive mechanisms of alien invasive plants consider the plant–herbivore interaction and the role of plant defense in this interaction. For example, the “Shift Defense Hypothesis” (SDH argues that introduced plants evolve higher levels of qualitative defense chemicals and decreased levels of quantitative defense, as they are released of the selective pressures from specialist herbivores but still face attack from generalists. Common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris, originating from Europe, is a cosmopolitan invasive plant in temperate regions. As in other Senecio species, S. vulgaris contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs as characteristic qualitative defense compounds. In this study, S. vulgaris plants originating from native and invasive ranges (Europe and China, respectively were grown under identical conditions and harvested upon flowering. PA composition and concentration in shoot and root samples were determined using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS. We investigated the differences between native and invasive S. vulgaris populations with regard to quantitative and qualitative variation of PAs. We identified 20 PAs, among which senecionine, senecionine N-oxide, integerrimine N-oxide and seneciphylline N-oxide were dominant in the roots. In the shoots, in addition to the 4 PAs dominant in roots, retrorsine N-oxide, spartioidine N-oxide and 2 non-identified PAs were also prevalent. The roots possessed a lower PA diversity but a higher total PA concentration than the shoots. Most individual PAs as well as the total PA concentration were strongly positively correlated between the roots and shoots. Both native and invasive S. vulgaris populations shared the pattern described above. However, there was a slight trend indicating lower PA diversity and lower total PA concentration in

Australine, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid that inhibits amyloglucosidase and glycoprotein processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tropea, J.E.; Molyneux, R.J.; Kaushal, G.P.; Pan, Y.T.; Mitchell, M.; Elbein, A.D. (Univ. of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio (USA))

1989-03-07

Australine is a polyhydroxylated pyrrolizidine alkaloid that was isolated from the seeds of the Australian tree Castanospermum australe and characterized by NMR and X-ray diffraction analysis. Since swainsonine and catanospermine are polyhydroxylated indolizidine alkaloids that inhibit specific glycosidases, the authors tested australine against a variety of exoglycosidases to determine whether it would inhibit any of these enzymes. This alkaloid proved to be a good inhibitor of the {alpha}-glucosidase amyloglucosidase (50% inhibition at 5.8 {mu}M), but it did not inhibit {beta}-glucosidase, {alpha}- or {beta}-mannosidase, or {alpha}- or {beta}-galactosidase. The inhibition of amyloglucosidase was of a competitive nature. Australine also inhibited the glycoprotein processing enzyme glucosidase I, but had only slight activity toward glucosidase II. When incubated with cultured cells, this alkaloid inhibited glycoprotein processing at the glucosidase I step and caused the accumulation of glycoproteins with Glc{sub 3}Man{sub 7-9}(GlcNAc){sub 2}-oligosaccharides.

Determination of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in commercial comfrey products (Symphytum sp.).

Science.gov (United States)

Betz, J M; Eppley, R M; Taylor, W C; Andrzejewski, D

1994-05-01

The presence of hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in comfrey (Symphytum sp.) and the widespread use of decoctions of this plant as a beverage (herbal tea) are of increasing concern. A method for the extraction and solid-phase concentration and capillary gas chromatographic determination of these alkaloids and their N-oxides in botanical materials has been developed and was applied to eleven comfrey-containing products purchased from retail health-food outlets in the Washington, DC, area during May-June 1989. Nine of the 11 products were found to contain measurable quantities of one or more of the alkaloids, in ranges from 0.1 to 400.0 ppm. Products containing comfrey leaf in combination with one or more other ingredients were found to contain the lowest alkaloid levels. Highest levels were found in bulk comfrey root, followed by bulk comfrey leaf. The species of the bulk material was verified by thin-layer chromatography and other means.

The role of astrocytes in metabolism and neurotoxicity of the pyrrolizidine alkaloid monocrotaline, the main toxin of Crotalaria retusa.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Penas Seara Pitanga

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The metabolic interactions and signalling between neurons and glial cells are necessary for the development and maintenance of brain functions and structures and for neuroprotection, which includes protection from chemical attack. Astrocytes are essential for cerebral detoxification and present an efficient and specific cytochrome P450 enzymatic system. Whilst Crotalaria (Fabaceae, Leguminosae plants are used in popular medicine, they are considered toxic and can cause damage to livestock and human health problems. Studies in animals have shown cases of poisoning by plants from the genus Crotalaria, which induced damage to the central nervous system. This finding has been attributed to the toxic effects of the pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA monocrotaline (MCT. The involvement of P450 enzymatic systems in MCT hepatic and pulmonary metabolism and toxicity has been elucidated, but little is known about the pathways implicated in the bioactivation of these systems and the direct contribution of these systems to brain toxicity. This review will present the main toxicological aspects of the Crotalaria genus that are established in the literature and recent findings describing the mechanisms involved in the neurotoxic effects of MCT, which was extracted from C. retusa, and its interaction with neurons in isolated astrocytes.

Is comfrey root more than toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids? Salvianolic acids among antioxidant polyphenols in comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) roots.

Science.gov (United States)

Trifan, Adriana; Opitz, Sebastian E W; Josuran, Roland; Grubelnik, Andreas; Esslinger, Nils; Peter, Samuel; Bräm, Sarah; Meier, Nadja; Wolfram, Evelyn

2018-02-01

Comfrey root preparations are used for the external treatment of joint distortions and myalgia, due to its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. Up to date, key activity-determining constituents of comfrey root extracts have not been completely elucidated. Therefore, we applied different approaches to further characterize a comfrey root extract (65% ethanol). The phenolic profile of comfrey root sample was characterized by HPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS/MS. Rosmarinic acid was identified as main phenolic constituent (7.55 mg/g extract). Moreover, trimers and tetramers of caffeic acid (isomers of salvianolic acid A, B and C) were identified and quantified for the first time in comfrey root. In addition, pyrrolizidine alkaloids were evaluated by HPLC-QQQ-MS/MS and acetylintermedine, acetyllycopsamine and their N-oxides were determined as major pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the comfrey root sample. Lastly, the antioxidant activity was determined using four assays: DPPH and ABTS radicals scavenging assays, reducing power assay and 15-lipoxygenase inhibition assay. Comfrey root extract exhibited significant antioxidant activities when compared to known antioxidants. Thus, comfrey root is an important source of phenolic compounds endowed with antioxidant activity which may contribute to the overall bioactivity of Symphytum preparations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Come, See and Experience Affective Interactive Art

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijholt, Antinus; Bialoskorski, Leticia S.S.; Westerink, Joyce H.D.M.; Reidsma, Dennis; van den Broek, Egon; Hondorp, G.H.W.

2009-01-01

The progress in the field of affective computing enables the realization of affective consumer products, affective games, and affective art. This paper describes the affective interactive art system Mood Swings, which interprets and visualizes affect expressed by a person. Mood Swings is founded on

7-cysteine-pyrrole conjugate: A new potential DNA reactive metabolite of pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xiaobo; Xia, Qingsu; Ma, Liang; Fu, Peter P

2016-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) require metabolic activation to exert cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and tumorigenicity. We previously reported that (±)-6,7-dihydro-7-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-5H-pyrrolizine (DHP)-derived DNA adducts are responsible for PA-induced liver tumor formation in rats. In this study, we determined that metabolism of riddelliine and monocrotaline by human or rat liver microsomes produced 7-cysteine-DHP and DHP. The metabolism of 7-glutathionyl-DHP by human and rat liver microsomes also generated 7-cysteine-DHP. Further, reaction of 7-cysteine-DHP with calf thymus DNA in aqueous solution yielded the described DHP-derived DNA adducts. This study represents the first report that 7-cysteine-DHP is a new PA metabolite that can lead to DNA adduct formation.

Analysis of herbal teas made from the leaves of comfrey (Symphytum officinale): reduction of N-oxides results in order of magnitude increases in the measurable concentration of pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

Science.gov (United States)

Oberlies, Nicholas H; Kim, Nam-Cheol; Brine, Dolores R; Collins, Bradley J; Handy, Robert W; Sparacino, Charles M; Wani, Mansukh C; Wall, Monroe E

2004-10-01

To determine the relative quantities of two hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, symphytine and echimidine, in teas prepared from comfrey leaves (Symphytum officinale), and to determine the potential contribution of the N-oxide forms of these alkaloids to levels of the parent alkaloids. Comfrey leaves were purchased from three commercial sources and used to prepare tea in a manner consistent with the methods used by consumers. An extraction scheme was devised for extraction of the alkaloids, and a gas chromatographic method was developed to quantify the two major alkaloids, symphytine and echimidine. Recognising that the N-oxide derivatives of these alkaloids have also been identified in comfrey preparations, chemical reduction was applied to determine the total quantities of the alkaloids as free bases and as N-oxide derivatives. The concentration of symphytine and echimidine varied considerably between teas prepared from leaves purchased from the different vendors of plant material. Moreover, a much higher concentration of symphytine was found in the tea when steps were included to reduce N-oxides prior to analysis. The treatment of pure symphytine with hot water did not generate the N-oxide derivative de novo. Since the pyrrolizidine alkaloids are known to be hepatotoxic, consumption of herbal teas made from comfrey leaves may be ill-advised. The concentration of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in such teas may be underestimated substantially unless the concentration of N-oxides is taken into consideration.

Incidence of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Herbal Medicines from German Retail Markets: Risk Assessments and Implications to Consumers.

Science.gov (United States)

Letsyo, Emmanuel; Jerz, Gerold; Winterhalter, Peter; Lindigkeit, Rainer; Beuerle, Till

2017-12-01

The occurrence of potentially toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in herbal medicines (HMs) is currently intensely being discussed in Europe. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, particularly the 1,2-unsaturated PAs, are undesired compounds in HMs due to their potential hepatotoxic and carcinogenic properties. In this study, 98 widely patronized HMs from six popular German retail supermarkets/drugstores, as well as from pharmacies, were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry for the presence of PAs. The results showed that about 63% of the HMs were PA positive, whereas the average PA concentration of the samples was 201 μg/kg, the highest concentration of PAs (3270 μg/kg) was attributed to a product that was purchased from the pharmacy and contained Hypericum perforatum L. (St. John's Wort) as an active ingredient. In addition, H. perforatum-containing products were frequently contaminated with PAs from Echium spp., while both Cynara cardunculus L. products and fixed-combination products of Gentiana lutea L., Rumex acetosa L., Verbena officinalis L., Sambucus nigra L., and Primula veris L. products were commonly contaminated with PAs of Senecio spp. The study showed that H. perforatum, C. cardunculus, Urtica dioica L., and fixed-combination products were frequently contaminated with PA levels above the recommended values of both the German and European Medicines Agencies. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Penibruguieramine A, a novel pyrrolizidine alkaloid from the endophytic fungus Penicillium sp. GD6 associated with Chinese mangrove Bruguiera gymnorrhiza.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zhen-Fang; Kurtán, Tibor; Yang, Xiao-Hong; Mándi, Attila; Geng, Mei-Yu; Ye, Bo-Ping; Taglialatela-Scafati, Orazio; Guo, Yue-Wei

2014-03-07

A novel pyrrolizidine alkaloid, penibruguieramine A (1), characterized by an unprecedented 1-alkenyl-2-methyl-8-hydroxymethylpyrrolizidin-3-one skeleton, was isolated from the endophytic fungus Penicillium sp. GD6, associated with the Chinese mangrove Bruguiera gymnorrhiza. The absolute configuration of penibruguieramine A (1) was established by TDDFT ECD calculations of the vacuum and solution conformers, exploiting the transitions of the lactam chromophore. A plausible pathway for its biosynthesis has been proposed.

Optimisation of isolation procedure for pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Rindera umbellata Bunge.

Science.gov (United States)

Mandić, Boris M; Vlajić, Marina D; Trifunović, Snežana S; Simić, Milena R; Vujisić, Ljubodrag V; VuČković, Ivan M; Novaković, Miroslav M; Nikolić-Mandić, Snežana D; Tešević, Vele V; Vajs, Vlatka V; Milosavljević, Slobodan M

2015-01-01

Procedure for isolation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) from Rindera umbellata Bunge plant species was optimised. Different extraction media (methanol, ethanol and sulphuric acid), concentration and volume of sulphuric acid, pH of PA solution for alkaline extraction, extraction time and techniques (maceration, ultrasonic and overhead rotary mixer assisted extraction) were investigated. The yields of six PAs (7-angeloyl heliotridane, 7-angeloyl heliotridine, lindelofine, 7-angeloyl rinderine, punctanecine and heliosupine) were monitored by GC-MS/FID. The best results for the isolation all of six PAs were obtained when the extraction was performed with 1 M sulphuric acid (30 mL per 1.00 g of dried sample) by overhead rotary mixer during three days. Optimal pH value for alkaline extraction of PAs with CH₂Cl₂ was 9, and the extraction should be performed with four portions of 30 mL of CH₂Cl₂. This procedure could be also useful for a plant sample preparation for GC and LC analyses of PAs.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in herbal teas for infants, pregnant or lactating women.

Science.gov (United States)

Mädge, Inga; Cramer, Luise; Rahaus, Ines; Jerz, Gerold; Winterhalter, Peter; Beuerle, Till

2015-11-15

A general contamination of tea with pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) has just become known. Here, we report the application and modification of a new HPLC-ESI-MS/MS sum parameter method to quantitate PA content of herbal teas intended for infants, pregnant and lactating women. Using p-toluenesulfonyl isocyanate for derivatization and a stable isotope labeled internal standard, the total retronecine-/heliotridine-type PA content of the samples is expressed in form of a single sum parameter (retronecine equivalents: RE). The new methods were applied to analyze 44 tea samples for such consumer groups. Thirty eight products (86%) were tested PA positive showing PA concentrations ranging from 0 to 391 μg RE/kg (average: 50 μg RE/kg). The dataset is discussed in the view of the current discussion on PA in the food chain with special focus on those particular vulnerable consumer groups. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization and screening of pyrrolizidine alkaloids and N-oxides from various parts of many botanicals and dietary supplements using liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

The UHPLC-QToF-MS analysis of pyrrolizidine alkaloids from various parts of 37 botanicals and 7 dietary supplements was performed. A separation by LC was achieved using a reversed-phase column and a gradient of water/acetonitrile each containing formic acid as the mobile phase. MS-MS detection was u...

Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids: Metabolic Activation Pathways Leading to Liver Tumor Initiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Peter P

2017-01-17

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and PA N-oxides are a class of phytochemical carcinogens contained in over 6000 plant species spread around the world. It has been estimated that approximately half of the 660 PAs and PA N-oxides that have been characterized are cytotoxic, genotoxic, and tumorigenic. It was recently determined that a genotoxic mechanism of liver tumor initiation mediated by PA-derived DNA adducts is a common metabolic activation pathway of a number of PAs. We proposed this set of PA-derived DNA adducts could be a common biological biomarker of PA exposure and a potential biomarker of PA-induced liver tumor formation. We have also found that several reactive secondary pyrrolic metabolites can dissociate and interconvert to other secondary pyrrolic metabolites, resulting in the formation of the same exogenous DNA adducts. This present perspective reports the current progress on these new findings and proposes future research needed for obtaining a greater understanding of the role of this activation pathway and validating the use of this set of PA-derived DNA adducts as a biological biomarker of PA-induced liver tumor initiation.

Affective Interface Adaptations in the Musickiosk Interactive Entertainment Application

Science.gov (United States)

Malatesta, L.; Raouzaiou, A.; Pearce, L.; Karpouzis, K.

The current work presents the affective interface adaptations in the Musickiosk application. Adaptive interaction poses several open questions since there is no unique way of mapping affective factors of user behaviour to the output of the system. Musickiosk uses a non-contact interface and implicit interaction through emotional affect rather than explicit interaction where a gesture, sound or other input directly maps to an output behaviour - as in traditional entertainment applications. PAD model is used for characterizing the different affective states and emotions.

Blood Pyrrole-Protein Adducts--A Biomarker of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid-Induced Liver Injury in Humans.

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Ruan, Jianqing; Gao, Hong; Li, Na; Xue, Junyi; Chen, Jie; Ke, Changqiang; Ye, Yang; Fu, Peter Pi-Cheng; Zheng, Jiang; Wang, Jiyao; Lin, Ge

2015-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) induce liver injury (PA-ILI) and is very likely to contribute significantly to drug-induced liver injury (DILI). In this study we used a newly developed ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS)-based method to detect and quantitate blood pyrrole-protein adducts in DILI patients. Among the 46 suspected DILI patients, 15 were identified as PA-ILI by the identification of PA-containing herbs exposed. Blood pyrrole-protein adducts were detected in all PA-ILI patients (100%). These results confirm that PA-ILI is one of the major causes of DILI and that blood pyrrole-protein adducts quantitated by the newly developed UHPLC-MS method can serve as a specific biomarker of PA-ILI.

7-Glutathione-pyrrole and 7-cysteine-pyrrole are potential carcinogenic metabolites of pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Xiaobo; Xia, Qingsu; Fu, Peter P

2017-04-03

Many pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are hepatotoxic, genotoxic, and carcinogenic phytochemicals. Metabolism of PAs in vivo generates four (±)-6,7-dihydro-7-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-5H-pyrrolizine (DHP)-DNA adducts that have been proposed to be responsible for PA-induced liver tumor formation in rats. In this present study, we determined that the same set of DHP-DNA adducts was formed upon the incubation of 7-glutathione-DHP and 7-cysteine-DHP with cultured human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells. These results suggest that 7-glutathione-DHP and 7-cysteine-DHP are reactive metabolites of PAs that can bind to cellular DNA to form DHP-DNA adducts in HepG2 cells, and can potentially initiate liver tumor formation.

Affective Computing used in an imaging interaction paradigm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schultz, Nette

2003-01-01

This paper combines affective computing with an imaging interaction paradigm. An imaging interaction paradigm means that human and computer communicates primarily by images. Images evoke emotions in humans, so the computer must be able to behave emotionally intelligent. An affective image selection...

Regio- and Stereoselective Cascades via Aldol Condensation and 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition for Construction of Functional Pyrrolizidine Derivatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Zhuo-Ya; Liu, Yi-Wen; Han, Pan; Dong, Han-Qing; Si, Chang-Mei; Wei, Bang-Guo; Lin, Guo-Qiang

2018-02-16

An efficient and step-economical approach to access functionalized pyrrolizidine derivatives by a one-pot tandem sequence, including an aldol condensation and subsequent 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition process, has been developed, starting from acetone, aldehyde, and proline. A number of substituted aromatic aldehydes were amenable to this transformation, and the desired products, racemic 7a-7w and chiral 9a-9m, were obtained with excellent regioselectivities and outstanding diastereoselectivities. Moreover, in situ NMR studies revealed MgSO 4 could effectively promote the aldol condensation pathway in this tandem process.

Metabolic activation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids: insights into the structural and enzymatic basis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruan, Jianqing; Yang, Mengbi; Fu, Peter; Ye, Yang; Lin, Ge

2014-06-16

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are natural toxins widely distributed in plants. The toxic potencies of different PAs vary significantly. PAs are mono- or diesters of necine acids with a necine base. On the basis of the necine bases, PAs are classified into three types: retronecine-type, otonecine-type, and platynecine-type. Hepatotoxic PAs contain an unsaturated necine base. PAs exert hepatotoxicity through metabolic activation by hepatic cytochromes P450s (CYPs) to generate reactive intermediates which form pyrrole-protein adducts. These adducts provide a mechanism-based biomarker to assess PA toxicity. In the present study, metabolic activation of 12 PAs from three structural types was investigated first in mice to demonstrate significant variations in hepatic metabolic activation of different PAs. Subsequently, the structural and enzymatic factors affecting metabolic activation of these PAs were further investigated by using human liver microsomes and recombinant human CYPs. Pyrrole-protein adducts were detected in the liver and blood of mice and the in vitro systems treated with toxic retronecine-type and otonecine-type PAs having unsaturated necine bases but not with a platynecine-type PA containing a saturated necine base. Retronecine-type PAs produced more pyrrole-protein adducts than otonecine-type PAs with similar necine acids, demonstrating that the structure of necine base affected PA toxic potency. Among retronecine-type PAs, open-ring diesters generated the highest amount of pyrrole-protein adducts, followed by macrocyclic diesters, while monoesters produced the least. Only CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 activated otonecine-type PAs, while all 10 CYPs studied showed the ability to activate retronecine-type PAs. Moreover, the contribution of major CYPs involved also varied significantly among retronecine-type PAs. In conclusion, our findings provide a scientific basis for predicting the toxicities of individual PAs in biological systems based on PA structural

The Affective Regulation of Social Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Clore, Gerald L.; Pappas, Jesse

2007-01-01

The recent publication of David Heise's "Expressive Order" (2007) provides an occasion for discussing some of the key ideas in Affect Control Theory. The theory proposes that a few dimensions of affective meaning provide a common basis for interrelating personal identities and social actions. It holds that during interpersonal interactions, social…

Urban Interaction and Affective Experience

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fritsch, Jonas; Brynskov, Martin

2008-01-01

As interactive digital technologies become a still more integrated and complex part of the everyday physical, social and cultural spaces we inhabit, research into these spaces’ dynamics and struc-tures needs to formulate adequate methods of analysis and dis-course. In this position paper we argue...... in favor of three points in that direction: First we argue that interaction – and the definition of interaction – is central to unfold the potential of digital urban media, from big, shared screens and media facades to small pri-vate, networked mobile and embedded platforms. Then we argue that an affective...... approach holds potential to address important aspects of the design of such blended digital spaces, extending beyond traditional interaction design. And finally we argue for the importance of construction, i.e. actual interventions of consider-able scale....

Best of Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction 2013 in Multimodal Interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Soleymani, Mohammad; Soleymani, M.; Pun, T.; Pun, Thierry; Nijholt, Antinus

The fifth biannual Humaine Association Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction (ACII 2013) was held in Geneva, Switzerland. This conference featured the recent advancement in affective computing and relevant applications in education, entertainment and health. A number of

Affective loop experiences: designing for interactional embodiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Höök, Kristina

2009-12-12

Involving our corporeal bodies in interaction can create strong affective experiences. Systems that both can be influenced by and influence users corporeally exhibit a use quality we name an affective loop experience. In an affective loop experience, (i) emotions are seen as processes, constructed in the interaction, starting from everyday bodily, cognitive or social experiences; (ii) the system responds in ways that pull the user into the interaction, touching upon end users' physical experiences; and (iii) throughout the interaction the user is an active, meaning-making individual choosing how to express themselves-the interpretation responsibility does not lie with the system. We have built several systems that attempt to create affective loop experiences with more or less successful results. For example, eMoto lets users send text messages between mobile phones, but in addition to text, the messages also have colourful and animated shapes in the background chosen through emotion-gestures with a sensor-enabled stylus pen. Affective Diary is a digital diary with which users can scribble their notes, but it also allows for bodily memorabilia to be recorded from body sensors mapping to users' movement and arousal and placed along a timeline. Users can see patterns in their bodily reactions and relate them to various events going on in their lives. The experiences of building and deploying these systems gave us insights into design requirements for addressing affective loop experiences, such as how to design for turn-taking between user and system, how to create for 'open' surfaces in the design that can carry users' own meaning-making processes, how to combine modalities to create for a 'unity' of expression, and the importance of mirroring user experience in familiar ways that touch upon their everyday social and corporeal experiences. But a more important lesson gained from deploying the systems is how emotion processes are co-constructed and experienced

UPLC-MS/MS method for determination of selected pyrrolizidine alkaloids in feed.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolechová, Martina; Cáslavský, Josef; Pospíchalová, Markéta; Kosubová, Petra

2015-03-01

Alkaloids known as secondary metabolites are grouped by typical structural characteristics into large families such as pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) comprising more than 350 individual heterocyclic compounds. The PAs present a serious health risk to human and livestock; hence there is a need for methods that allow these dangerous plant toxins to be determined. In this study, a fast, reliable and sensitive approach is proposed to identify and quantify PAs in feed samples. PAs including monocrotaline, senkirkine, senecionine, seneciphylline and retrorsine were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Sample preparation was based on a modified QuEChERS approach. The mean recovery, precision, matrix effects and limits of quantification were assessed for three matrices within the method validation. The presented method was used to inspect 41 various feed samples, where the presence of PAs was expected. Roughages and feed for rabbits contained the highest levels of PAs, in general. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Complete 1H NMR assignments of pyrrolizidine alkaloids and a new eudesmanoid from Senecio polypodioides.

Science.gov (United States)

Villanueva-Cañongo, Claudia; Pérez-Hernández, Nury; Hernández-Carlos, Beatriz; Cedillo-Portugal, Ernestina; Joseph-Nathan, Pedro; Burgueño-Tapia, Eleuterio

2014-05-01

Chemical investigation of the aerial parts of Senecio polypodioides lead to the isolation of the new eudesmanoid 1β-angeloyloxyeudesm-7-ene-4β,9α-diol (1) and the known dirhamnosyl flavonoid lespidin (3), while from roots, the known 7β-angeloyloxy-1-methylene-8α-pyrrolizidine (5) and sarracine N-oxide (6), as well as the new neosarracine N-oxide (8), were obtained. The structure of 1 and 8 was elucidated by spectral means. Complete assignments of the (1)H NMR data for 5, 6, sarracine (7), and 8 were made using one-dimensional and two-dimensional NMR experiments and by application of the iterative full spin analysis of the PERCH NMR software. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Liparis nervosa with inhibitory activities against LPS-induced NO production in RAW264.7 macrophages.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Shuai; Zhou, Xian-li; Wang, Cui-juan; Wang, You-song; Xiao, Feng; Shan, Lian-hai; Guo, Zhi-yun; Weng, Jie

2013-09-01

Six pyrrolizidine alkaloids were isolated from the whole herb of Liparis nervosa together with two previously known ones. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses and chemical reactions. The cytotoxicity of the isolates was evaluated against A549, HepG2, and MCF-7 human cancer cell lines; however, no significant growth inhibition was observed. All compounds were evaluated for the inhibition of LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.7 macrophages, and most significantly inhibited NO production with IC50 values in the range of 2.16-38.25 μM. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Variability of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Occurrence in Species of the Grass Subfamily Pooideae (Poaceae)

Science.gov (United States)

Wesseling, Anne-Maria; Demetrowitsch, Tobias J.; Schwarz, Karin; Ober, Dietrich

2017-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a class of secondary metabolites found in various unrelated angiosperm lineages including cool-season grasses (Poaceae, subfamily Pooideae). Thesinine conjugates, saturated forms of PA that are regarded as non-toxic, have been described to occur in the two grass species Lolium perenne and Festuca arundinacea (Poaceae, subfamily Pooideae). In a wider screen, we tested various species of the Pooideae lineage, grown under controlled conditions, for their ability to produce thesinine conjugates or related structures. Using an LC-MS based targeted metabolomics approach we were able to show that PA biosynthesis in grasses is limited to a group of very closely related Pooideae species that produce a limited diversity of PA structures. High variability in PA levels was observed even between individuals of the same species. These individual accumulation patterns are discussed with respect to a possible function and evolution of this type of alkaloid. PMID:29250094

Variability of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Occurrence in Species of the Grass Subfamily Pooideae (Poaceae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne-Maria Wesseling

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs are a class of secondary metabolites found in various unrelated angiosperm lineages including cool-season grasses (Poaceae, subfamily Pooideae. Thesinine conjugates, saturated forms of PA that are regarded as non-toxic, have been described to occur in the two grass species Lolium perenne and Festuca arundinacea (Poaceae, subfamily Pooideae. In a wider screen, we tested various species of the Pooideae lineage, grown under controlled conditions, for their ability to produce thesinine conjugates or related structures. Using an LC-MS based targeted metabolomics approach we were able to show that PA biosynthesis in grasses is limited to a group of very closely related Pooideae species that produce a limited diversity of PA structures. High variability in PA levels was observed even between individuals of the same species. These individual accumulation patterns are discussed with respect to a possible function and evolution of this type of alkaloid.

A field investigation into a suspected outbreak of pyrrolizidine alkaloid toxicosis in horses in western Queensland.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, B; Gummow, B

2015-03-01

A disease outbreak investigation was conducted in western Queensland to investigate a rare suspected outbreak of pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) toxicosis in horses. Thirty five of 132 horses depastured on five properties on the Mitchell grass plains of western Queensland died in the first six months of 2010. Clinical-pathological findings were consistent with PA toxicosis. A local variety of Crotalaria medicaginea was the only hepatotoxic plant found growing on affected properties. Pathology reports and departure and arrival dates of two brood mares provided evidence of a pre wet season exposure period. All five affected properties experienced a very dry spring and early summer preceded by a large summer wet season. The outbreak was characterised as a point epidemic with a sudden peak of deaths in March followed by mortalities steadily declining until the end of June. The estimated morbidity (serum IGG>50IU/L) rate was 76%. Average crude mortality was 27% but higher in young horses (67%) and brood mares (44%). Logistic regression analysis showed that young horses and brood mares and those grazing denuded pastures in December were most strongly associated with dying whereas those fed hay and/or grain based supplements were less likely to die. This is the first detailed study of an outbreak of PA toxicosis in central western Queensland and the first to provide evidence that environmental determinants were associated with mortality, that the critical exposure period was towards the end of the dry season, that supplementary feeding is protective and that denuded pastures and the horses physiological protein requirement are risk factors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diversity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in native and invasive Senecio pterophorus (Asteraceae): implications for toxicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Castells, Eva; Mulder, Patrick P J; Pérez-Trujillo, Míriam

2014-12-01

Changes in plant chemical defenses after invasion could have consequences on the invaded ecosystems by modifying the interactions between plants and herbivores and facilitating invasion success. However, no comprehensive biogeographical studies have yet determined the phenotypic levels of plant chemical defenses, as consumed by local herbivores, covering large distributional areas of a species. Senecio pterophorus is a perennial shrub native to Eastern South Africa, expanded into Western South Africa and introduced into Australia and Europe. As other Asteraceae, S. pterophorus contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) toxic to vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores. Here we analyzed S. pterophorus PAs by LC-MS/MS on foliage sampled across its entire distributional range, including the native and all non-native areas. PA concentrations and diversity was very high: we found 57 compounds belonging to 6 distinct necine base-types, including the highly toxic 1,2-unsaturated PAs (retronecine and otonecines) and the less toxic 1,2-saturated PAs (platynecine and rosmarinecines). Plants from different origins diverged in their PA absolute and relative concentrations. Rosmarinine was the most abundant compound in Australia and South Africa, but it was nearly absent in Europe. We characterized three plant chemotypes: retrorsine-senkirkine chemotype in Eastern South Africa, rosmarinine chemotype in Australia and Western South Africa, and acetylseneciphylline chemotype in Europe. PA absolute concentrations were highest in Australia. The increased absolute and relative concentrations of retronecine PAs from Australia and Europe, respectively, indicate that S. pterophorus is potentially more toxic in the invasive range than in the native range. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mood swings: design and evaluation of affective interactive art

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bialoskorski, Leticia S.S.; Westerink, Joyce H.D.M.; van den Broek, Egon

2009-01-01

The field of affective computing is concerned with developing emphatic products, such as affective consumer products, affective games, and affective art. This paper describes Mood Swings, an affective interactive art system, which interprets and visualizes affect expressed by a person. Mood Swings

Thiacloprid affects trophic interaction between gammarids and mayflies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Englert, D.; Bundschuh, M.; Schulz, R.

2012-01-01

Neonicotinoid insecticides like thiacloprid enter agricultural surface waters, where they may affect predator–prey-interactions, which are of central importance for ecosystems as well as the functions these systems provide. The effects of field relevant thiacloprid concentrations on the leaf consumption of Gammarus fossarum (Amphipoda) were assessed over 96 h (n = 13–17) in conjunction with its predation on Baetis rhodani (Ephemeroptera) nymphs. The predation by Gammarus increased significantly at 0.50–1.00 μg/L. Simultaneously, its leaf consumption decreased with increasing thiacloprid concentration. As a consequence of the increased predation at 1.00 μg/L, gammarids' dry weight rose significantly by 15% compared to the control. At 4.00 μg/L, the reduced leaf consumption was not compensated by an increase in predation causing a significantly reduced dry weight of Gammarus (∼20%). These results may finally suggest that thiacloprid adversely affects trophic interactions, potentially translating into alterations in ecosystem functions, like leaf litter breakdown and aquatic-terrestrial subsidies. - Highlights: ► Field relevant thiacloprid concentrations affected gammarid and mayfly interaction. ► Gammarus leaf consumption and predation success is adversely affected. ► Gammarus growth increased due to higher predation at 1.0 μg thiacloprid/L. ► The study's results are discussed in the context of ecosystem functions. - Field relevant thiacloprid concentrations affect species interactions, which may translate to alterations in ecosystem functions.

Association between social interaction and affect in nursing home residents with dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Jao, Ying-Ling; Loken, Eric; MacAndrew, Margaret; Van Haitsma, Kimberly; Kolanowski, Ann

2018-06-01

Social interactions that lead to positive affect are fundamental to human well-being. However, individuals with dementia are challenged to achieve positive social interaction. It is unclear how social interactions influence affect in people with dementia. This study examined the association between social interactions and affect in nursing home residents with dementia. This repeated measures study used baseline data from a clinical trial in which 126 residents from 12 nursing homes were enrolled. Participants were video recorded twice daily on five days. Ratings of social interaction and affect were taken from the videotapes using the Interacting with People subscale of the Passivity in Dementia and the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Apparent Affect Rating Scale. Linear mixed models were used for analysis. Social interaction was significantly related to higher interest and pleasure at within- and between-person levels. Social interaction significantly predicted anxiety and sadness at the between-person level only. Residents with higher cognitive function also displayed greater pleasure. Greater interest and anxiety was evident during the afternoon hours. This study supports the impact of social interactions on positive and negative affect. Findings can guide intervention development, aimed at promoting positive social interactions and improving affect for people with dementia.

Gene expression changes induced by the tumorigenic pyrrolizidine alkaloid riddelliine in liver of Big Blue rats

Science.gov (United States)

Mei, Nan; Guo, Lei; Liu, Ruqing; Fuscoe, James C; Chen, Tao

2007-01-01

Background Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are probably the most common plant constituents that poison livestock, wildlife, and humans worldwide. Riddelliine is isolated from plants grown in the western United States and is a prototype of genotoxic PAs. Riddelliine was used to investigate the genotoxic effects of PAs via analysis of gene expression in the target tissue of rats in this study. Previously we observed that the mutant frequency in the liver of rats gavaged with riddelliine was 3-fold higher than that in the control group. Molecular analysis of the mutants indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the mutational spectra from riddelliine-treated and control rats. Results Riddelliine-induced gene expression profiles in livers of Big Blue transgenic rats were determined. The female rats were gavaged with riddelliine at a dose of 1 mg/kg body weight 5 days a week for 12 weeks. Rat whole genome microarray was used to perform genome-wide gene expression studies. When a cutoff value of a two-fold change and a P-value less than 0.01 were used as gene selection criteria, 919 genes were identified as differentially expressed in riddelliine-treated rats compared to the control animals. By analysis with the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis Network, we found that these significantly changed genes were mainly involved in cancer, cell death, tissue development, cellular movement, tissue morphology, cell-to-cell signaling and interaction, and cellular growth and proliferation. We further analyzed the genes involved in metabolism, injury of endothelial cells, liver abnormalities, and cancer development in detail. Conclusion The alterations in gene expression were directly related to the pathological outcomes reported previously. These results provided further insight into the mechanisms involved in toxicity and carcinogenesis after exposure to riddelliine, and permitted us to investigate the interaction of gene products inside the signaling networks

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in floral honeys of tropical Ghana: a health risk assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Letsyo, Emmanuel; Jerz, Gerold; Winterhalter, Peter; Dübecke, Arne; von der Ohe, Werner; von der Ohe, Katharina; Beuerle, Till

2017-12-01

There is a vast amount of information about the nutritional and medicinal properties of honey as a result of its numerous benefits. However, honeys have been found to be contaminated with hepatotoxic and carcinogenic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) on account of bees foraging on PA-containing plants. This study deals with the analysis of PAs in tropical honeys emanating from different agro-ecological zones of Ghana in order to assess its potential health risk. PAs of 48 honey samples were analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). The results show that a total of 85% of the honeys from various agro-ecological zones were PA positive including all honeys from supermarkets. The highest concentration of PAs was 2639 μg kg -1 , while the average PA concentration of the samples was 283 μg kg -1 . The study also found Chromolaena odorata pollens in majority of the honeys, thus indicating the plant as major source of PA contamination of honeys in the tropical regions.

Facial Affect Reciprocity in Dyadic Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-01

regulators of social interaction. In the developmental literature, this concept has been investigated under the rubric of social referencing...The communication of affects in monkeys: Cooperative reward conditioning. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 108, 121– 134. Miller, R. E., Banks, J

Affect in Human-Robot Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Werry, I., Rae, J., Dickerson, P., Stribling, P., & Ogden, B. (2002). Robotic Playmates: Analysing Interactive Competencies of Children with Autism ...WE-4RII. IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Edmonton, Canada. 35. Moravec, H. (1988). Mind Children : The Future of...and if so when and where? • What approaches, theories , representations, and experimental methods inform affective HRI research? Report Documentation

Carcinogenic effects of riddelliine on P53 knockout mice

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Riddelliine is a pyrrolizidine alkaloid found in Senecio riddellii and several other Senecio spp. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are a group of over 600 toxins, found in more than 6,000 plants worldwide. As a result they are likely the most economically significant plant toxin in the world, affecting a wi...

Simultaneous analysis of hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids and N-oxides in comfrey root by LC-ion trap mass spectrometry.

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Wuilloud, Jorgelina C A; Gratze, Samuel R; Gamble, Bryan M; Wolnik, Karen A

2004-02-01

The purpose of the current study was to develop a LC-MS(n) method for the analysis of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in comfrey. Published data presents an extensive list of PAs and their N-oxides present in comfrey. However, standards are not commercially available for any of the PAs typically present in comfrey. Those PAs that are not stereoisomers were readily resolved on a C(18) column using a water-acetonitrile gradient as the mobile phase. The use of a selective technique, LC-MS/MS, allowed us to identify groups of PAs and their N-oxides, as well as identify the number of PAs present in each group, including those that were not completely resolved chromatographically.

Characterization of hepatic DNA damage induced in rats by the pyrrolizidine alkaloid monocrotaline

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Petry, T.W.; Bowden, G.T.; Huxtable, R.J.; Sipes, I.G.

1984-04-01

Hepatic DNA damage induced by the pyrrolizidine alkaloid monocrotaline was evaluated following i.p. administration to adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals were treated with various doses ranging upward from 5 mg/kg, and hepatic nuclei were isolated 4 hr later. Hepatic nuclei were used as the DNA source in all experiments. DNA damage was characterized by the alkaline elution technique. A mixture of DNA-DNA interstrand cross-links and DNA-protein cross-links was induced. Following an injection of monocrotaline, 30 mg/kg i.p., DNA-DNA interstrand cross-linking reached a maximum within 12 hr or less and thereafter decreased over a protracted period of time. By 96 hr postadministration, the calculated cross-linking factor was no longer statistically different from zero. No evidence for the induction of DNA single-strand breaks was observed, although the presence of small numbers of DNA single-strand breaks could have been masked by the overwhelming predominance of DNA cross-links. These DNA cross-links may be related to the hepatocarcinogenic, hepatotoxic, and/or antimitotic effects of monocrotaline.

Determination of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in comfrey by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

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Liu, Feng; Wan, Sow Yin; Jiang, Zhangjian; Li, Sam Fong Yau; Ong, Eng Shi; Osorio, Jhon Carlos Castaño

2009-12-15

Symphytum officinale L. (comfrey) is a medicinal plant commonly used in decoctions and aliments. Besides therapeutic bioactive compounds present in the herb, it is found to contain hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), such as lycopsamine and others. In the present study, PAs such as lycopsamine, echimidine and lasiocarpine were determined using electrospray liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) with the method precision (relative standard deviation, RSD) comfrey followed by the comparison with heating under reflux with the RSD ranging from 2.49% to 19.32%. Our results showed a higher extraction efficiency for heating under reflux compared with PHWE. It was proposed that the lower extraction efficiency for PHWE was attributable to dissolved nitrogen from air which caused the reduction in the solubility of lycopsamine in the compressed hot solvent. In this study, quantitative analysis of PAs in comfrey was demonstrated. In addition, it was found that the use of subcritical water for extractions depended on the physical properties of the dissolved solutes and their tendency to degrade under the chosen extraction conditions.

Disturbance of gene expression in primary human hepatocytes by hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids: A whole genome transcriptome analysis.

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Luckert, Claudia; Hessel, Stefanie; Lenze, Dido; Lampen, Alfonso

2015-10-01

1,2-unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) are plant metabolites predominantly occurring in the plant families Asteraceae and Boraginaceae. Acute and chronic PA poisoning causes severe hepatotoxicity. So far, the molecular mechanisms of PA toxicity are not well understood. To analyze its mode of action, primary human hepatocytes were exposed to a non-cytotoxic dose of 100 μM of four structurally different PA: echimidine, heliotrine, senecionine, senkirkine. Changes in mRNA expression were analyzed by a whole genome microarray. Employing cut-off values with a |fold change| of 2 and a q-value of 0.01, data analysis revealed numerous changes in gene expression. In total, 4556, 1806, 3406 and 8623 genes were regulated by echimidine, heliotrine, senecione and senkirkine, respectively. 1304 genes were identified as commonly regulated. PA affected pathways related to cell cycle regulation, cell death and cancer development. The transcription factors TP53, MYC, NFκB and NUPR1 were predicted to be activated upon PA treatment. Furthermore, gene expression data showed a considerable interference with lipid metabolism and bile acid flow. The associated transcription factors FXR, LXR, SREBF1/2, and PPARα/γ/δ were predicted to be inhibited. In conclusion, though structurally different, all four PA significantly regulated a great number of genes in common. This proposes similar molecular mechanisms, although the extent seems to differ between the analyzed PA as reflected by the potential hepatotoxicity and individual PA structure. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tissue distribution, core biosynthesis and diversification of pyrrolizidine alkaloids of the lycopsamine type in three Boraginaceae species.

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Frölich, Cordula; Ober, Dietrich; Hartmann, Thomas

2007-04-01

Three species of the Boraginaceae were studied: greenhouse-grown plants of Heliotropium indicum and Agrobacterium rhizogenes transformed roots cultures (hairy roots) of Cynoglossum officinale and Symphytum officinale. The species-specific pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) profiles of the three systems were established by GC-MS. All PAs are genuinely present as N-oxides. In H. indicum the tissue-specific PA distribution revealed the presence of PAs in all tissues with the highest levels in the inflorescences which in a flowering plant may account for more than 70% of total plant alkaloid. The sites of PA biosynthesis vary among species. In H. indicum PAs are synthesized in the shoot but not roots whereas they are only made in shoots for C. officinale and in roots of S. officinale. Classical tracer studies with radioactively labelled precursor amines (e.g., putrescine, spermidine and homospermidine) and various necine bases (trachelanthamidine, supinidine, retronecine, heliotridine) and potential ester alkaloid intermediates (e.g., trachelanthamine, supinine) were performed to evaluate the biosynthetic sequences. It was relevant to perform these comparative studies since the key enzyme of the core pathway, homospermidine synthase, evolved independently in the Boraginaceae and, for instance, in the Asteraceae [Reimann, A., Nurhayati, N., Backenkohler, A., Ober, D., 2004. Repeated evolution of the pyrrolizidine alkaloid-mediated defense system in separate angiosperm lineages. Plant Cell 16, 2772-2784.]. These studies showed that the core pathway for the formation of trachelanthamidine from putrescine and spermidine via homospermidine is common to the pathway in Senecio ssp. (Asteraceae). In both pathways homospermidine is further processed by a beta-hydroxyethylhydrazine sensitive diamine oxidase. Further steps of PA biosynthesis starting with trachelanthamidine as common precursor occur in two successive stages. Firstly, the necine bases are structurally modified and either

A Straightforward Route to Enantiopure Pyrrolizidines and Indolizidines by Cycloaddition to Pyrroline N-Oxides Derived from the Chiral Pool

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Alberto Brandi

1998-12-01

Full Text Available Enantiomerically pure, five membered cyclic nitrones, easily obtained in large amounts from protected hydroxyacids and aminoacids such as D- and L-tartaric, L-malic, and L-aspartic acids, give cycloaddition reactions with a good diastereocontrol. The adducts of L-malic and L-aspartic acids derived from addition of nitrones to dimethyl maleate and g-crotonolactone were easily converted into enantiopure pyrrolizidinones, which can be transformed into polyhydroxypyrrolidines or polyhydroxypyrrolizidines, both interesting compounds as potential glycosidase inhibitors. The method is suitable for natural products synthesis as exemplified by a straightforward and convenient access to the pyrrolizidine alkaloid necine base (–-hastanecine, as well as to indolizidine alkaloids, i.e. (+- lentiginosine.

Affective Dynamics in Triadic Peer Interactions in Early Childhood

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Lavictoire, L.A.; Snyder, J.; Stoolmiller, M.; Hollenstein, T.P.

2012-01-01

In interpersonal interaction research, moving beyond dyadic to triadic dynamics can be analytically daunting. We explored the affective states expressed during triadic peer interactions to understand how patterns were associated with childhood psychopathology and sociometric status. High-risk

The chemical profile of pyrrolizidine alkaloids from selected greek endemic boraginaceae plants determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

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Damianakos, Harilaos; Jeziorek, Malgorzata; Pietrosiuk, Agnieszka; Chinou, Ioanna

2014-01-01

Four Greek endemic Boraginaceae plants, Onosma erecta Sibth. & Sm., Onosma kaheirei Teppner, Onosma leptantha Heldr., and Cynoglossum columnae L. (aerial parts), were screened for their content of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). TLC with the Mattocks-Molyneux visualization reagent was used as a preliminary qualitative test for PA or PA N-oxide detection. The extracts of the species found to contain PAs and their N-oxides were further analyzed by GC/MS, so as to identify their structures by means of the mass spectra and retention index values of known PAs already published in the literature. Twenty-three PAs were identified. For additional peaks, recognized as possible PAs by their MS pattern, no exact structures were tentatively suggested, as a result of lack of matching literature data. Furthermore, a quantitative PA profile of the species was obtained.

Are effects of common ragwort in the Ames test caused by pyrrolizidine alkaloids?

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Bovee, Toine F H; Helsdingen, Richard J R; Hoogenboom, Ron L A P; de Nijs, Monique W C M; Liu, Xiaojie; Vrieling, Klaas; Klinkhamer, Peter G L; Peijnenburg, Ad A C M; Mulder, Patrick P J

2015-08-01

It has previously been demonstrated by others that acetone extracts of Senecio jacobaea (syn. Jacobaea vulgaris, common or tansy ragwort) test positive in the Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity test (Ames test). Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are thought to be responsible for these mutagenic effects. However, it was also observed that the major PA present in common ragwort, jacobine, produced a negative response (with and without the addition of rat liver S9) in Salmonella test strains TA98, TA100, TA1535 and TA1537. To investigate which compounds in the plant extracts were responsible for the positive outcome, the present study investigated the contents and mutagenic effects of methanol and acetone extracts prepared from dried ground S. jacobaea and Senecio inaequidens (narrow-leafed ragwort). Subsequently, a fractionation approach was set up in combination with LC-MS/MS analysis of the fractions. It was shown that the positive Ames test outcomes of S. jacobaea extracts are unlikely to be caused by PAs, but rather by the flavonoid quercetin. This study also demonstrates the importance of identifying compounds responsible for positive test results in bioassays. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Affective processes in human-automation interactions.

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Merritt, Stephanie M

2011-08-01

This study contributes to the literature on automation reliance by illuminating the influences of user moods and emotions on reliance on automated systems. Past work has focused predominantly on cognitive and attitudinal variables, such as perceived machine reliability and trust. However, recent work on human decision making suggests that affective variables (i.e., moods and emotions) are also important. Drawing from the affect infusion model, significant effects of affect are hypothesized. Furthermore, a new affectively laden attitude termed liking is introduced. Participants watched video clips selected to induce positive or negative moods, then interacted with a fictitious automated system on an X-ray screening task At five time points, important variables were assessed including trust, liking, perceived machine accuracy, user self-perceived accuracy, and reliance.These variables, along with propensity to trust machines and state affect, were integrated in a structural equation model. Happiness significantly increased trust and liking for the system throughout the task. Liking was the only variable that significantly predicted reliance early in the task. Trust predicted reliance later in the task, whereas perceived machine accuracy and user self-perceived accuracy had no significant direct effects on reliance at any time. Affective influences on automation reliance are demonstrated, suggesting that this decision-making process may be less rational and more emotional than previously acknowledged. Liking for a new system may be key to appropriate reliance, particularly early in the task. Positive affect can be easily induced and may be a lever for increasing liking.

Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids from Echium vulgare in Honey Originate Primarily from Floral Nectar.

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Lucchetti, Matteo A; Glauser, Gaetan; Kilchenmann, Verena; Dübecke, Arne; Beckh, Gudrun; Praz, Christophe; Kast, Christina

2016-06-29

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in honey can be a potential human health risk. So far, it has remained unclear whether PAs in honey originate from pollen or floral nectar. We obtained honey, nectar, and plant pollen from two observation sites where Echium vulgare L. was naturally abundant. The PA concentration of honey was determined by targeted analysis using a high pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry system (HPLC-MS/MS), allowing the quantification of six different PAs and PA-N-oxides present in E. vulgare. Echium-type PAs were detected up to 0.153 μg/g in honey. Nectar and plant pollen were analyzed by nontargeted analysis using ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatography-high resolution-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HR-MS), allowing the detection of 10 alkaloids in small size samples. Echium-type PAs were detected between 0.3-95.1 μg/g in nectar and 500-35000 μg/g in plant pollen. The PA composition in nectar and plant pollen was compared to the composition in honey. Echimidine (+N-oxide) was the main alkaloid detected in honey and nectar samples, while echivulgarine (+N-oxide) was the main PA found in plant pollen. These results suggest that nectar contributes more significantly to PA contamination in honey than plant pollen.

Ordinary Social Interaction and the Main Effect Between Perceived Support and Affect.

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Lakey, Brian; Vander Molen, Randy J; Fles, Elizabeth; Andrews, Justin

2016-10-01

Relational regulation theory hypothesizes that (a) the main effect between perceived support and mental health primarily reflects ordinary social interaction rather than conversations about stress and how to cope with it, and (b) the extent to which a provider regulates a recipient's mental health primarily reflects the recipient's personal taste (i.e., is relational), rather than the provider's objective supportiveness. In three round-robin studies, participants rated each other on supportiveness and the quality of ordinary social interaction, as well as their own affect when interacting with each other. Samples included marines about to deploy to Afghanistan (N = 100; 150 dyads), students sharing apartments (N = 64; 96 dyads), and strangers (N = 48; 72 dyads). Perceived support and ordinary social interaction were primarily relational, and most of perceived support's main effect on positive affect was redundant with ordinary social interaction. The main effect between perceived support and affect emerged among strangers after brief text conversations, and these links were partially verified by independent observers. Findings for negative affect were less consistent with theory. Ordinary social interaction appears to be able to explain much of the main effect between perceived support and positive affect. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cytotoxicity of pyrrolizidine alkaloid in human hepatic parenchymal and sinusoidal endothelial cells: Firm evidence for the reactive metabolites mediated pyrrolizidine alkaloid-induced hepatotoxicity.

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Yang, Mengbi; Ruan, Jianqing; Fu, Peter P; Lin, Ge

2016-01-05

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) widely distribute in plants and can cause hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS), which typically presents as a primary sinusoidal endothelial cell damage. It is well-recognized that after ingestion, PAs undergo hepatic cytochromes P450 (CYPs)-mediated metabolic activation to generate dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids (DHPAs), which are hydrolyzed to dehydroretronecine (DHR). DHPAs and DHR are reactive metabolites having same core pyrrole moiety, and can bind proteins to form pyrrole-protein adducts, which are believed as the primary cause for PA-induced HSOS. However, to date, the direct evidences supporting the toxicity of DHPAs and DHR in the liver, in particular in the sinusoidal endothelial cells, are lacking. Using human hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells (HSEC) and HepG2 (representing hepatic parenchymal cells), cells that lack CYPs activity, this study determined the direct cytotoxicity of dehydromonocrotaline, a representative DHPA, and DHR, but no cytotoxicity of the intact PA (monocrotaline) in both cell lines, confirming that reactive metabolites mediate PA intoxication. Comparing with HepG2, HSEC had significantly lower basal glutathione (GSH) level, and was significantly more susceptible to the reactive metabolites with severer GSH depletion and pyrrole-protein adducts formation. The toxic potency of two reactive metabolites was also compared. DHPA was more reactive than DHR, leading to severer toxicity. In conclusion, our results unambiguously provided the first direct evidence for the critical role of DHPA and DHR in the reactive metabolites-mediated PA-induced hepatotoxicity, which occurs predominantly in HSEC due to severe GSH depletion and the significant formation of pyrrole-protein adducts in HSEC. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interspecific transfer of pyrrolizidine alkaloids: An unconsidered source of contaminations of phytopharmaceuticals and plant derived commodities.

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Nowak, Melanie; Wittke, Carina; Lederer, Ines; Klier, Bernhard; Kleinwächter, Maik; Selmar, Dirk

2016-12-15

Many plant derived commodities contain traces of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). The main source of these contaminations seems to be the accidental co-harvest of PA-containing weeds. Yet, based on the insights of the newly described phenomenon of the horizontal transfer of natural products, it is very likely that the PA-contaminations may also be due to an uptake of the alkaloids from the soil, previously being leached out from rotting PA-plants. The transfer of PAs was investigated using various herbs, which had been mulched with dried plant material from Senecio jacobaea. All of the acceptor plants exhibited marked concentrations of PAs. The extent and the composition of the imported PAs was dependent on the acceptor plant species. These results demonstrate that PAs indeed are leached out from dried Senecio material into the soil and confirm their uptake by the roots of the acceptor plants and the translocation into the leaves. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Oral toxicity study of certain plant extracts containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

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Şeremet, Oana Cristina; Bărbuceanu, Florica; Ionică, Floriana Elvira; Margină, Denisa Marilena; GuŢu, Claudia Maria; Olaru, Octavian Tudorel; Ilie, Mihaela; Gonciar, Veaceslav; Negreş, Simona; ChiriŢă, Cornel

2016-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a class of toxic compounds which are found in plants. Poisoning caused by these toxins is associated with acute and chronic liver damage. Tussilago farfara (coltsfoot), Petasites hybridus (common butterbur), Senecio vernalis (eastern groundsel) and Symphytum officinale (comfrey) are traditional phytotherapic species, which beside the therapeutic bioactive compounds contain PAs. The aim of the paper was to assess the safety of some dry extracts obtained from these species. For the determination of acute toxicity, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guideline No. 423 was used. For the determination of repeated dose oral toxicity, Senecionis vernalis herba and Symphyti radix extracts (250 mg÷kg) were administrated, by gavage, for 28 days, and their effects on animal weight, liver and biliary functions, hepatic tissue and oxidative stress were investigated. After the acute toxicity testing, the dry extracts were placed in the GHS Category V (LD50>5000 mg÷kg, p.o.). For the subacute toxicity testing, no death or any signs of toxicity were observed. Also, no significant differences in biochemical parameters were observed between control and treated groups. The observed histopathological lesions were non-specific and were not consistent with the data reported in the literature for PAs exposure. In conclusion, the administration for 28 days, of the tested extracts, in a dose which correspond to a PAs concentration over the limits imposed in some countries, produced no hepatic and biliary toxic effects. Further studies, extended over a longer period of time, are needed in order to determine the safety of plant extracts containing PAs.

Plastome-Genome Interactions Affect Plastid Transmission in Oenothera

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Chiu, W. L.; Sears, B. B.

1993-01-01

Plastids of Oenothera, the evening primrose, can be transmitted to the progeny from both parents. In a constant nuclear background, the frequency of biparental plastid transmission is determined by the types of plastid genomes (plastomes) involved in the crosses. In this study, the impact of nuclear genomes on plastid inheritance was analyzed. In general, the transmission efficiency of each plastome correlated strongly with its compatibility with the nuclear genome of the progeny, suggesting that plastome-genome interactions can influence plastid transmission by affecting the efficiency of plastid multiplication after fertilization. Lower frequencies of plastid transmission from the paternal side were observed when the pollen had poor vigor due to an incompatible plastome-genome combination, indicating that plastome-genome interactions may also affect the input of plastids at fertilization. Parental traits that affect the process of fertilization can also have an impact on plastid transmission. Crosses using maternal parents with long styles or pollen with relatively low growth capacity resulted in reduced frequencies of paternal plastid transmission. These observations suggest that degeneration of pollen plastids may occur as the time interval between pollination and fertilization is lengthened. PMID:8462856

Heliotropium europaeum poisoning in cattle and analysis of its pyrrolizidine alkaloid profile.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimshoni, Jakob Avi; Mulder, Patrick P J; Bouznach, Arieli; Edery, Nir; Pasval, Israel; Barel, Shimon; Abd-El Khaliq, Mohammed; Perl, Samuel

2015-02-11

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are carcinogenic and genotoxic phytochemicals found exclusively in angiosperms. The ingestion of PA-containing plants often results in acute and chronic toxicities in man and livestock, targeting mainly the liver. During February 2014, a herd of 15-18-month-old mixed-breed beef cattle (n = 73) from the Galilee region in Israel was accidently fed hay contaminated with 12% Heliotropium europaeum (average total PA intake was 33 mg PA/kg body weight/d). After 42 d of feed ingestion, sudden death occurred over a time period of 63 d with a mortality rate of 33%. Necropsy and histopathological examination revealed fibrotic livers and moderate ascites, as well as various degrees of hyperplasia and fibrosis of bile duct epithelial cells. Elevated γ-glutamyl-transferase and alkaline phosphatase levels were indicative of severe liver damage. Comprehensive PA profile determination of the contaminated hay and of native H. europaeum by LC-MS/MS revealed the presence of 30 PAs and PA-N-oxides, including several newly reported PAs and PA-N-oxides of the rinderine and heliosupine class. Heliotrine- and lasiocarpine-type PAs constituted 80% and 18% of the total PAs, respectively, with the N-oxides being the most abundant form (92%). The PA profile of the contaminated hay showed very strong resemblance to that of H. europaeum.

Risk assessment on the use of herbal medicinal products containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

Science.gov (United States)

Allgaier, Clemens; Franz, Stephanie

2015-11-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) are common plantal toxins directed against insect herbivores. Unsaturated PAs are known to be hepatotoxic. Many of the PAs are in addition mutagenic and some may possibly be carcinogenic for humans. The risk of an exposure to PAs associated with their occurrence in herbal medicinal products and in foodstuff is under current discussion. The present risk assessment for herbal medicinal products containing PAs is based on a margin of safety derivation for foodstuff indicating that a life-long exposure to maximally 0.007 μg/kg bw/day is not expected to be associated with safety concerns. This approach offers a possibility to estimate the potential risk of PA-containing herbal medicinal products irrespective of the route of administration. It assumes PA levels in the final herbal medicinal product below 0.01 ppm and considers for dermal administration a 100% skin penetration of the PAs reflecting a worst-case scenario. As a result, the calculated margins of safety show a potential exposure using herbal medicinal products 70-, 45.5-, and 19.3-fold lower on a one-day base and 608-, 396-, and 168- fold lower on a one-year base for adults, children aged 12 years, and children aged 4 years, respectively, than the thresholds considered acceptable for foodstuff. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pesticide interactions with soils affected by olive oil mill wastewater

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Keren, Yonatan; Bukhanovsky, Nadezhda; Borisover, Mikhail

2013-04-01

Soil pesticide sorption is well known to affect the fate of pesticides, their bioavailability and the potential to contaminate air and water. Soil - pesticide interactions may be strongly influenced by soil organic matter (SOM) and organic matter (OM)-rich soil amendments. One special OM source in soils is related to olive oil production residues that may include both solid and liquid wastes. In the Mediterranean area, the olive oil production is considered as an important field in the agricultural sector. Due to the significant rise in olive oil production, the amount of wastes is growing respectively. Olive oil mill waste water (OMWW) is the liquid byproduct in the so-called "three phase" technological process. Features of OMWW include the high content of fatty aliphatic components and polyphenols and their often-considered toxicity. One way of OMWW disposal is the land spreading, e.g., in olive orchards. The land application of OMWW (either controlled or not) is supposed to affect the multiple soil properties, including hydrophobicity and the potential of soils to interact with pesticides. Therefore, there is both basic and applied interest in elucidating the interactions between organic compounds and soils affected by OMWW. However, little is known about the impact of OMWW - soil interactions on sorption of organic compounds, and specifically, on sorption of agrochemicals. This paper reports an experimental study of sorption interactions of a series of organic compounds including widely used herbicides such as diuron and simazine, in a range of soils that were affected by OMWW (i) historically or (ii) in the controlled land disposal experiments. It is demonstrated that there is a distinct increase in apparent sorption of organic chemicals in soils affected by OMWW. In selected systems, this increase may be explained by increase in SOM content. However, the SOM quality places a role: the rise in organic compound - soil interactions may both exceed the SOM

Affective interactions using virtual reality: the link between presence and emotions.

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Riva, Giuseppe; Mantovani, Fabrizia; Capideville, Claret Samantha; Preziosa, Alessandra; Morganti, Francesca; Villani, Daniela; Gaggioli, Andrea; Botella, Cristina; Alcañiz, Mariano

2007-02-01

Many studies showed the ability of movies and imagery techniques to elicit emotions. Nevertheless, it is less clear how to manipulate the content of interactive media to induce specific emotional responses. In particular, this is true for the emerging medium virtual reality (VR), whose main feature is the ability to induce a feeling of "presence" in the computer-generated world experienced by the user. The main goal of this study was to analyze the possible use of VR as an affective medium. Within this general goal, the study also analyzed the relationship between presence and emotions. The results confirmed the efficacy of VR as affective medium: the interaction with "anxious" and "relaxing" virtual environments produced anxiety and relaxation. The data also showed a circular interaction between presence and emotions: on one side, the feeling of presence was greater in the "emotional" environments; on the other side, the emotional state was influenced by the level of presence. The significance of these results for the assessment of affective interaction is discussed.

What Makes Sports Fans Interactive? Identifying Factors Affecting Chat Interactions in Online Sports Viewing.

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Ko, Minsam; Yeo, Jaeryong; Lee, Juyeong; Lee, Uichin; Jang, Young Jae

2016-01-01

Sports fans are able to watch games from many locations using TV services while interacting with other fans online. In this paper, we identify the factors that affect sports viewers' online interactions. Using a large-scale dataset of more than 25 million chat messages from a popular social TV site for baseball, we extract various game-related factors, and investigate the relationships between these factors and fans' interactions using a series of multiple regression analyses. As a result, we identify several factors that are significantly related to viewer interactions. In addition, we determine that the influence of these factors varies according to the user group; i.e., active vs. less active users, and loyal vs. non-loyal users.

Factors affecting quality of social interaction park in Jakarta

Science.gov (United States)

Mangunsong, N. I.

2018-01-01

The existence of social interactions park in Jakarta is an oasis in the middle of a concrete jungle. Parks is a response to the need for open space as a place of recreation and community interaction. Often the social interaction parks built by the government does not function as expected, but other functions such as a place to sell, trash, unsafe so be rarely visited by visitors. The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors that affect the quality of social interaction parks in Jakarta by conducting descriptive analysis and correlation analysis of the variables assessment. The results of the analysis can give an idea of social interactions park based on community needs and propose the development of social interactioncity park. The object of study are 25 social interaction parks in 5 municipalities of Jakarta. The method used is descriptive analysis method, correlation analysis using SPSS 19 and using crosstab, chi-square tests. The variables are 5 aspects of Design, Plants composition: Selection type of plant (D); the beauty and harmony (Ind); Maintenance and fertility (P); Cleanliness and Environmental Health (BS); Specificity (Drainage, Multi Function garden, Means, Concern/Mutual cooperation, in dense settlements) (K). The results of analysis show that beauty is the most significant correlation with the value of the park followed by specificity, cleanliness and maintenance. Design was not the most significant variable affecting the quality of the park. The results of this study can be used by the Department of Parks and Cemeteries as input in managing park existing or to be developed and to improve the quality of social interaction park in Jakarta.

What Makes Sports Fans Interactive? Identifying Factors Affecting Chat Interactions in Online Sports Viewing.

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Minsam Ko

Full Text Available Sports fans are able to watch games from many locations using TV services while interacting with other fans online. In this paper, we identify the factors that affect sports viewers' online interactions. Using a large-scale dataset of more than 25 million chat messages from a popular social TV site for baseball, we extract various game-related factors, and investigate the relationships between these factors and fans' interactions using a series of multiple regression analyses. As a result, we identify several factors that are significantly related to viewer interactions. In addition, we determine that the influence of these factors varies according to the user group; i.e., active vs. less active users, and loyal vs. non-loyal users.

What Makes Sports Fans Interactive? Identifying Factors Affecting Chat Interactions in Online Sports Viewing

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, Jaeryong; Lee, Juyeong

2016-01-01

Sports fans are able to watch games from many locations using TV services while interacting with other fans online. In this paper, we identify the factors that affect sports viewers’ online interactions. Using a large-scale dataset of more than 25 million chat messages from a popular social TV site for baseball, we extract various game-related factors, and investigate the relationships between these factors and fans’ interactions using a series of multiple regression analyses. As a result, we identify several factors that are significantly related to viewer interactions. In addition, we determine that the influence of these factors varies according to the user group; i.e., active vs. less active users, and loyal vs. non-loyal users. PMID:26849568

With love, from me to you: Embedding social interactions in affective neuroscience.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilam, Gadi; Hendler, Talma

2016-09-01

Human emotional experiences naturally occur while interacting in a spontaneous, dynamic and response contingent fashion with other humans. This resonates with both theoretical considerations as well as neuroimaging findings that illustrate the nexus between the "social" and "emotional" brain suggesting a domain-general organization of the brain. Nevertheless, most knowledge in affective neuroscience stems from studying the brain in isolation from its natural social environment. Whether social interactions are constitutive or not to the understanding of other people's intentions, incorporating such interactions is clearly required for ecological validity. Moreover, since interpersonal interactions may influence emotional experiences and expressions, interactive paradigms may advance the theoretical understanding of what emotions are and what about them is social, and will correspondingly characterize their underlying neural substrates. We highlight the recent conceptual and experimental advances of bringing realistic social interactions into the neuroimaging lab; review emotion-induction paradigms and consider their congruency with features of social interactions; and emphasize the importance of embedding such spontaneous and dynamic interactive paradigms in the field of affective neuroscience. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transfer of pyrrolizidine alkaloids from various herbs to eggs and meat in laying hens.

Science.gov (United States)

Mulder, Patrick P J; de Witte, Susannah L; Stoopen, Geert M; van der Meulen, Jan; van Wikselaar, Piet G; Gruys, Erik; Groot, Maria J; Hoogenboom, Ron L A P

2016-12-01

To investigate the potential transfer of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), laying hens were fed for 14 days with diets containing 0.5% of dried common ragwort, common groundsel, narrow-leaved ragwort or viper's bugloss, or 0.1% of common heliotrope. This resulted in total PA levels in feed of respectively 5.5, 11.1, 53.1, 5.9 and 21.7 mg kg - 1 , with varying composition. PAs were transferred to eggs, in particular yolk, with steady-state levels of respectively 12, 21, 216, 2 and 36 µg kg - 1 . Overall transfer rates for the sum of PAs were estimated between 0.02% and 0.23%, depending on the type of PAs in the feed. In animals slaughtered shortly after the last exposure, levels in meat were slightly lower than those in eggs, levels in livers somewhat higher. When switched to clean feed, levels in eggs gradually decreased, but after 14 days were still above detection limits in the hens exposed to higher PA levels. Similar was the case for meat and especially kidneys and livers. It is concluded that the intake of PA containing herbs by laying hens may result in levels in eggs and meat that could be of concern for consumers, and as such should be avoided.

Diagnostic performance of Contrast-enhanced CT in Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids-induced Hepatic Sinusoidal Obstructive Syndrome

Science.gov (United States)

Kan, Xuefeng; Ye, Jin; Rong, Xinxin; Lu, Zhiwen; Li, Xin; Wang, Yong; Yang, Ling; Xu, Keshu; Song, Yuhu; Hou, Xiaohua

2016-01-01

Hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS) can be caused by pyrrolizidine alkaloids(PAs)-containing herbals. Since PAs exposure is obscure and clinical presentation of HSOS is unspecific, it is challenge to establish the diagnosis of PAs-induced HSOS. Gynura segetum is one of the most wide-use herbals containing PAs. The aim of our study is to describe the features of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) in gynura segetum-induced HSOS, and then determine diagnostic performance of radiological signs. We retrospectively analyzed medical records and CT images of HSOS patients (71 cases) and the controls (222 cases) enrolled from January 1, 2008, to Oct 31, 2015. The common findings of contrast CT in PAs-induced HSOS included: ascites (100%), hepatomegaly (78.87%), gallbladder wall thickening (86.96%), pleural effusion (70.42%), hepatic vein narrowing (87.32%), patchy liver enhancement (92.96%), and heterogeneous hypoattenuation (100%); of these signs, patchy enhancement and heterogeneous hypoattenuation were valuable features. Then, the result of diagnostic performance demonstrated that contrast CT possessed better performance in diagnosing PAs-induced HSOS compared with various parameters of Seattle criteria. In conclusion, the patients with PAs-induced HSOS display distinct radiologic features at CT-scan, which reveals that contrast-enhanced CT provides an effective noninvasive method for diagnosing PAs-induced HSOS. PMID:27897243

Interim relative potency factors for the toxicological risk assessment of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in food and herbal medicines.

Science.gov (United States)

Merz, Karl-Heinz; Schrenk, Dieter

2016-11-30

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are among the most potent natural toxins occurring in a broad spectrum of plant species from various families. Recently, findings of considerable contamination of teas/herbal infusions prepared from non-PA plants have been reported. These are obviously due to cross-contamination with minor amounts of PA plants and can affect both food and herbal medicines. Another source of human exposure is honey collected from PA plants. These findings illustrate the requirement for a comprehensive risk assessment of PAs, hampered by the enormous number of different PA congeners occurring in nature. Up to now, risk assessment is based on the carcinogenicity of certain PAs after chronic application to rats using the sum of detected PAs as dose metric. Because of the well-documented large structure-dependent differences between sub-groups of PA congeners with respect to their genotoxicity and (cyto)toxicity, however, this procedure is inadequate. Here we provide an overview of recent attempts to assess the risk of PA exposure and the available literature on the toxic effects and potencies of different congeners. Based on these considerations, we have derived interim Relative Potency (REP) factors for a number of abundant PAs suggesting a factor of 1.0 for cyclic di-esters and open-chain di-esters with 7S configuration, of 0.3 for mono-esters with 7S configuration, of 0.1 for open-chain di-esters with 7R configuration and of 0.01 for mono-esters with 7R configuration. For N-oxides we suggest to apply the REP factor of the corresponding PA. We are confident that the use of these values can provide a more scientific basis for PA risk assessment until a more detailed experimental analysis of the potencies of all relevant congeners can be carried out. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of pathological narcissism on interpersonal and affective processes in social interactions.

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Wright, Aidan G C; Stepp, Stephanie D; Scott, Lori N; Hallquist, Michael N; Beeney, Joseph E; Lazarus, Sophie A; Pilkonis, Paul A

2017-10-01

Narcissism has significant interpersonal costs, yet little research has examined behavioral and affective patterns characteristic of narcissism in naturalistic settings. Here we studied the effect of narcissistic features on the dynamic processes of interpersonal behavior and affect in daily life. We used interpersonal theory to generate transactional models of social interaction (i.e., linkages among perceptions of others' behavior, affect, and one's own behavior) predicted to be characteristic of narcissism. Psychiatric outpatients (N = 102) completed clinical interviews and a 21-day ecological momentary assessment protocol using smartphones. After social interactions (N = 5,781), participants reported on perceptions of their interaction partner's behavior (scored along the dimensions of dominant-submissive and affiliative-quarrelsome), their own affect, and their own behavior. Multilevel structural equation modeling was used to examine dynamic links among behavior and affect across interactions, and the role of narcissism in moderating these links. Results showed that perceptions of others' dominance did not predict dominant behavior, but did predict quarrelsome behavior, and this link was potentiated by narcissism. Furthermore, the link between others' dominance and one's own quarrelsome behavior was mediated by negative affect. Moderated mediation was also found: Narcissism amplified the link between ratings of others' dominance and one's own quarrelsomeness and negative affect. Narcissism did not moderate the link between other dominance and own dominance, nor the link between other affiliation and own affiliation. These results suggest that narcissism is associated with specific interpersonal and affective processes, such that sensitivity to others' dominance triggers antagonistic behavior in daily life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Statement on the risks for human health related to the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in honey, tea, herbal infusions and food supplements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Annette

day to assess the carcinogenic risks of PAs, and concluded that there is a possible concern for human health related to the exposure to PAs, in particular for frequent and high consumers of tea and herbal infusions. The Panel noted that consumption of food supplements based on PA-producing plants......, including the development of more sensitive and specific analytical methods. A recommendation was also issued on the generation of data to identify the toxic and carcinogenic potency of the PAs commonly found in food.......EFSA was asked by the European Commission to deliver a scientific opinion on the risks for human health related to the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in honey, tea, herbal infusions and food supplements and to identify the PAs of relevance in the aforementioned food commodities...

Quercetin prevents pyrrolizidine alkaloid clivorine-induced liver injury in mice by elevating body defense capacity.

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Lili Ji

Full Text Available Quercetin is a plant-derived flavonoid that is widely distributed in nature. The present study is designed to analyze the underlying mechanism in the protection of quercetin against pyrrolizidine alkaloid clivorine-induced acute liver injury in vivo. Serum transaminases, total bilirubin analysis, and liver histological evaluation demonstrated the protection of quercetin against clivorine-induced liver injury. Terminal dUTP nick end-labeling assay demonstrated that quercetin reduced the increased amount of liver apoptotic cells induced by clivorine. Western-blot analysis of caspase-3 showed that quercetin inhibited the cleaved activation of caspase-3 induced by clivorine. Results also showed that quercetin reduced the increase in liver glutathione and lipid peroxidative product malondialdehyde induced by clivorine. Quercetin reduced the enhanced liver immunohistochemical staining for 4-hydroxynonenal induced by clivorine. Results of the Mouse Stress and Toxicity PathwayFinder RT2 Profiler PCR Array demonstrated that the expression of genes related with oxidative or metabolic stress and heat shock was obviously altered after quercetin treatment. Some of the alterations were confirmed by real-time PCR. Our results demonstrated that quercetin prevents clivorine-induced acute liver injury in vivo by inhibiting apoptotic cell death and ameliorating oxidative stress injury. This protection may be caused by the elevation of the body defense capacity induced by quercetin.

Quercetin Prevents Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Clivorine-Induced Liver Injury in Mice by Elevating Body Defense Capacity

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Lili; Ma, Yibo; Wang, Zaiyong; Cai, Zhunxiu; Pang, Chun; Wang, Zhengtao

2014-01-01

Quercetin is a plant-derived flavonoid that is widely distributed in nature. The present study is designed to analyze the underlying mechanism in the protection of quercetin against pyrrolizidine alkaloid clivorine-induced acute liver injury in vivo. Serum transaminases, total bilirubin analysis, and liver histological evaluation demonstrated the protection of quercetin against clivorine-induced liver injury. Terminal dUTP nick end-labeling assay demonstrated that quercetin reduced the increased amount of liver apoptotic cells induced by clivorine. Western-blot analysis of caspase-3 showed that quercetin inhibited the cleaved activation of caspase-3 induced by clivorine. Results also showed that quercetin reduced the increase in liver glutathione and lipid peroxidative product malondialdehyde induced by clivorine. Quercetin reduced the enhanced liver immunohistochemical staining for 4-hydroxynonenal induced by clivorine. Results of the Mouse Stress and Toxicity PathwayFinder RT2 Profiler PCR Array demonstrated that the expression of genes related with oxidative or metabolic stress and heat shock was obviously altered after quercetin treatment. Some of the alterations were confirmed by real-time PCR. Our results demonstrated that quercetin prevents clivorine-induced acute liver injury in vivo by inhibiting apoptotic cell death and ameliorating oxidative stress injury. This protection may be caused by the elevation of the body defense capacity induced by quercetin. PMID:24905073

Risk assessment for pyrrolizidine alkaloids detected in (herbal) teas and plant food supplements.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Lu; Mulder, Patrick P J; Louisse, Jochem; Peijnenburg, Ad; Wesseling, Sebas; Rietjens, Ivonne M C M

2017-06-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are plant metabolites present in some botanical preparations, with especially 1,2-unsaturated PAs being of concern because they are genotoxic carcinogens. This study presents an overview of tumour data on PAs and points of departure (PODs) derived from them, corroborating that the BMDL 10 for lasiocarpine represents a conservative POD for risk assessment. A risk assessment using this BMDL 10 and mean levels of PAs reported in literature for (herbal) teas, indicates that consumption of one cup of tea a day would result in MOE values lower than 10 000 for several types of (herbal) teas, indicating a priority for risk management for these products A refined risk assessment using interim relative potency (REP) factors showed that based on the mean PA levels, 7(54%) of 13 types of (herbal) teas and 1 (14%) of 7 types of plant food supplements (PFS) resulted in MOE values lower than 10 000, indicating a priority for risk management also for these products in particular. This includes both preparations containing PA-producing and non-PA-producing plants. Our study provides insight in the current state-of-the art and limitations in the risk assessment of PA-containing food products, especially (herbal) teas and PFS, indicating that PAs in food presents a field of interest for current and future risk management. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Plant functional diversity affects climate-vegetation interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Groner, Vivienne P.; Raddatz, Thomas; Reick, Christian H.; Claussen, Martin

2018-04-01

We present how variations in plant functional diversity affect climate-vegetation interaction towards the end of the African Humid Period (AHP) in coupled land-atmosphere simulations using the Max Planck Institute Earth system model (MPI-ESM). In experiments with AHP boundary conditions, the extent of the green Sahara varies considerably with changes in plant functional diversity. Differences in vegetation cover extent and plant functional type (PFT) composition translate into significantly different land surface parameters, water cycling, and surface energy budgets. These changes have not only regional consequences but considerably alter large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns and the position of the tropical rain belt. Towards the end of the AHP, simulations with the standard PFT set in MPI-ESM depict a gradual decrease of precipitation and vegetation cover over time, while simulations with modified PFT composition show either a sharp decline of both variables or an even slower retreat. Thus, not the quantitative but the qualitative PFT composition determines climate-vegetation interaction and the climate-vegetation system response to external forcing. The sensitivity of simulated system states to changes in PFT composition raises the question how realistically Earth system models can actually represent climate-vegetation interaction, considering the poor representation of plant diversity in the current generation of land surface models.

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS, STRESSFUL EVENTS AND NEGATIVE AFFECT AT WORK - A MICROANALYTIC APPROACH

NARCIS (Netherlands)

PEETERS, MCW; BUUNK, BP; SCHAUFELI, WB

1995-01-01

In the present study a daily event-recording method, the DIRO (Daily Interaction Record in Organizations), was employed for assessing social interactions, stressful events and negative affect at work. Forty-one secretaries filled out the records during the course of a week. This made it possible to

Hydrological Conditions Affect the Interspecific Interaction between Two Emergent Wetland Species

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Jian Zhou

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Hydrological conditions determine the distribution of plant species in wetlands, where conditions such as water depth and hydrological fluctuations are expected to affect the interspecific interactions among emergent wetland species. To test such effects, we conducted a greenhouse experiment with three treatment categories, interspecific interaction (mixed culture or monoculture, water depth (10 or 30 cm depth, and hydrological fluctuation (static or fluctuating water level, and two common emergent wetland plant species, Scirpus planiculumis Fr. (Cyperaceae and Phragmites australis var. baiyangdiansis (Gramineae. An increase in the water depth significantly restrained the growth of both S. planiculumis and P. australis, while hydrological fluctuations did not obviously alter the growth of either species. In addition, both water depth and hydrological fluctuations significantly affected the interspecific interaction between these two wetland species. P. australis benefited from interspecific interaction under increasing water depth and hydrological fluctuations, and the RII values were clearly positive for plants grown at a water depth that fluctuated around 30 cm. The results may have some implications for understanding how S. planiculumis and P. australis, as well as wetland communities, respond to the natural variation or human modification of hydrological conditions.

Detection of pyrrolizidine alkaloids using flow analysis with both acidic potassium permanganate and tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) chemiluminescence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorman, Bree A.; Barnett, Neil W.; Bos, Richard

2005-01-01

For the first time, analytically useful chemiluminescence was elicited from the reactions of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Heliotrine, retronecine, supinine, monocrotaline and echinatine N-oxide yielded chemiluminescence upon reaction with tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) whilst lasiocarpine, its N-oxide and supinine elicited light upon reaction with acidic potassium permanganate. Detection limits for heliotrine were 1.25 x 10 -7 M and 9 x 10 -9 M for tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III) perchlorate with flow injection analysis (FIA) and the silica-immobilised reagent (4-[4-(dichloromethylsilanyl)-butyl]-4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridine)bis (2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) with sequential injection analysis (SIA), respectively. Lasiocarpine was detectable at 1.4 x 10 -7 M using acidic potassium permanganate with FIA. Additionally, the silica-immobilised reagent was optimised with respect to the oxidant (ammonium ceric nitrate) concentration and the aspiration times which afforded a detection limit for codeine of 5 x 10 -10 M using SIA

An Outbreak of Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease in Western Afghanistan Associated with Exposure to Wheat Flour Contaminated with Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids

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Faizullah Kakar

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Pyrrolizidine alakloids (PAs are known to cause hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD. Outbreaks have occurred in Western Afghanistan since 1974, the latest in February 2008. We conducted an outbreak investigation using a case-control design. Sixty-seven cases of VOD were compared with 199 community controls. Consumption of bread was strongly associated with disease (adjusted odds ratio: 35.8 [95%CI: 7.6–168.2]. Toxic doses of PA were found in plant extracts and in samples of wheat flour taken from the study area. Compared to wheat flour there was 1000 times less PA in milk and whey and in water samples the PA content was zero. Although direct analysis was not possible, contaminated wheat flour used to make bread was the likely source of PA causing the outbreak. Eating a more varied diet including meat and fruit may be protective. Prevention and control measures will rely on community awareness and agricultural interventions to ensure safety of the food supply.

An Outbreak of Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease in Western Afghanistan Associated with Exposure to Wheat Flour Contaminated with Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids

Science.gov (United States)

Kakar, Faizullah; Akbarian, Zarif; Leslie, Toby; Mustafa, Mir Lais; Watson, John; van Egmond, Hans P.; Omar, Mohammad Fahim; Mofleh, Jawad

2010-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alakloids (PAs) are known to cause hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD). Outbreaks have occurred in Western Afghanistan since 1974, the latest in February 2008. We conducted an outbreak investigation using a case-control design. Sixty-seven cases of VOD were compared with 199 community controls. Consumption of bread was strongly associated with disease (adjusted odds ratio: 35.8 [95%CI: 7.6–168.2]). Toxic doses of PA were found in plant extracts and in samples of wheat flour taken from the study area. Compared to wheat flour there was 1000 times less PA in milk and whey and in water samples the PA content was zero. Although direct analysis was not possible, contaminated wheat flour used to make bread was the likely source of PA causing the outbreak. Eating a more varied diet including meat and fruit may be protective. Prevention and control measures will rely on community awareness and agricultural interventions to ensure safety of the food supply. PMID:20652038

An Outbreak of Hepatic Veno-Occlusive Disease in Western Afghanistan Associated with Exposure to Wheat Flour Contaminated with Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kakar, F.; Akbarian, Z.; Mustafa, M.L.; Omar, M.F.; Mofleh, J.; Toby Leslie, T.; Watson, J.; Egmond, H.P.V.

2010-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are known to cause hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD). Outbreaks have occurred in Western Afghanistan since 1974, the latest in February 2008. We conducted an outbreak investigation using a case-control design. Sixty-seven cases of VOD were compared with 199 community controls. Consumption of bread was strongly associated with disease (adjusted odds ratio: 35.8 [95%CI: 7.6 168.2]). Toxic doses of PA were found in plant extracts and in samples of wheat flour taken from the study area. Compared to wheat flour there was 1000 times less PA in milk and whey and in water samples the PA content was zero. Although direct analysis was not possible, contaminated wheat flour used to make bread was the likely source of PA causing the outbreak. Eating a more varied diet including meat and fruit may be protective. Prevention and control measures will rely on community awareness and agricultural interventions to ensure safety of the food supply.

How social factors and behavioural strategies affect feeding and social interaction patterns in pigs.

Science.gov (United States)

Boumans, Iris J M M; de Boer, Imke J M; Hofstede, Gert Jan; Bokkers, Eddie A M

2018-04-26

Animals living in groups compete for food resources and face food conflicts. These conflicts are affected by social factors (e.g. competition level) and behavioural strategies (e.g. avoidance). This study aimed to deepen our understanding of the complex interactions between social factors and behavioural strategies affecting feeding and social interaction patterns in animals. We focused on group-housed growing pigs, Sus scrofa, which typically face conflicts around the feeder, and of which patterns in various competitive environments (i.e. pig:feeder ratio) have been documented soundly. An agent-based model was developed to explore how interactions among social factors and behavioural strategies can affect various feeding and social interaction patterns differently under competitive situations. Model results show that pig and diet characteristics interact with group size and affect daily feeding patterns (e.g. feed intake and feeding time) and conflicts around the feeder. The level of competition can cause a turning point in feeding and social interaction patterns. Beyond a certain point of competition, meal-based (e.g. meal frequency) and social interaction patterns (e.g. displacements) are determined mainly by behavioural strategies. The average daily feeding time can be used to predict the group size at which this turning point occurs. Under the model's assumptions, social facilitation was relatively unimportant in the causation of behavioural patterns in pigs. To validate our model, simulated patterns were compared with empirical patterns in conventionally housed pigs. Similarities between empirical and model patterns support the model results. Our model can be used as a tool in further research for studying the effects of social factors and group dynamics on individual variation in feeding and social interaction patterns in pigs, as well as in other animal species. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Leader charisma and affective team climate: the moderating role of the leader's influence and interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández Baeza, Ana; Araya Lao, Cristina; García Meneses, Juliana; González Romá, Vicente

2009-11-01

In this study, we evaluate the role of leader charisma in fostering positive affective team climate and preventing negative affective climate. The analysis of a longitudinal database of 137 bank branches by means of hierarchical moderated regression shows that leader charisma has a stronger effect on team optimism than on team tension. In addition, the leader's influence and the frequency of leader-team interaction moderate the relationship between charisma and affective climate. However, whereas the leader's influence enhances the relationship between leader charisma and positive affective climate, the frequency of interaction has counterproductive effects.

A survey of Senecio spp. affecting livestock in Uruguay and their associated pyrrolizidine alkaloid content

Science.gov (United States)

In Eastern Uruguay there has been a significant increase of seneciosis in grazing livestock with most affected localities related to counties neighboring the Brazilian border. A survey in 28 farms associated with poisoning outbreaks in grazing cattle in Eastern Uruguay was carried out. Fifty populat...

Immersion in a virtual world interactive drama and affective sciences

CERN Document Server

Mayr, Simon

2014-01-01

Interactive drama is more than just a new breed of entertainment software. As different research projects have shown, these systems can also be used for pedagogical and therapeutic purposes. The goal of these systems is to teach sophisticated problem solving skills by allowing the user to interact with compelling stories that have didactic purpose.One of the main attractions of narratives, independent of the medium in which they are presented, is that they elicit emotional response in their audiences. They have an affective impact and only engineers and authors who understand how the emotion s

Synergistic effects of pyrrolizidine alkaloids and lipopolysaccharide on preterm delivery and intrauterine fetal death in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yu; Ma, Zhenguo; Kou, Hao; Sun, Rongze; Yang, Hanxiao; Smith, Charles Vincent; Zheng, Jiang; Wang, Hui

2013-08-29

Preterm birth is the leading cause of death for newborn infants, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is commonly used to induce preterm delivery in experimental animals. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are widespread and occur in foods, herbs, and other plants. This study was to investigate the synergistic effects of LPS and two representative PAs, retrorsine (RTS) and monocrotaline (MCT), on preterm delivery and fetal death. Pregnant Kunming mice were divided into seven groups: control, RTS, MCT, LPS, RTS+LPS and two MCT+LPS groups. Animals in PAs and PAs+LPS groups were dosed intragastrically with RTS (10mg/kg) or MCT (20 mg/kg or 60 mg/kg) from gestational day (GD) 9 to GD16; mice given LPS were injected intraperitoneally with 150 μg/kg on GD15.5. Latencies to delivery, numbers of pups live and dead at birth were recorded, and livers of live neonates were collected. The incidence of LPS-induced preterm birth was enhanced in dams pretreated with MCT, and combination of PAs and LPS increased fetal mortality from PAs. The enhancement of LPS-induced preterm delivery and fetal demise in animals exposed chronically to PAs and other substances found in foods and beverages consumed widely by humans merits further focused investigation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dopamine D4 Receptor Polymorphism and Sex Interact to Predict Children's Affective Knowledge

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Sharon eBen-Israel

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Affective knowledge, the ability to understand others’ emotional states, is considered to be a fundamental part in efficient social interaction. Affective knowledge can be seen as related to cognitive empathy, and in the framework of Theory of Mind (ToM as affective ToM. Previous studies found that cognitive empathy and ToM are heritable, yet little is known regarding the specific genes involved in individual variability in affective knowledge. Investigating the genetic basis of affective knowledge is important for understanding brain mechanisms underlying socio-cognitive abilities. The 7-repeat (7R allele within the third exon of the Dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4-III has been a focus of interest, due to accumulated knowledge regarding its relevance to individual differences in prosocial behavior. A recent study suggests that an interaction between the DRD4-III polymorphism and sex is associated with cognitive empathy among adults. We aimed to examine the same association in two childhood age groups. Children (N = 280, age 3.5 years, N = 283, age 5 years participated as part of the Longitudinal Israel Study of Twins (LIST. Affective knowledge was assessed through children’s responses to an illustrated story describing different emotional situations, told in a laboratory setting. The findings suggest a significant interaction between sex and the DRD4-III polymorphism, replicated in both age groups. Boy carriers of the 7R allele had higher affective knowledge scores than girls, whereas in the absence of the 7R there was no significant sex effect on affective knowledge. The results support the importance of DRD4-III polymorphism and sex differences to social development. Possible explanations for differences from adult findings are discussed, as are pathways for future studies.

Detection of pyrrolizidine alkaloids using flow analysis with both acidic potassium permanganate and tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) chemiluminescence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gorman, Bree A. [School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Vic. 3217 (Australia); Barnett, Neil W. [School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Vic. 3217 (Australia)]. E-mail: barnie@deakin.edu.au; Bos, Richard [School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Vic. 3217 (Australia)

2005-06-13

For the first time, analytically useful chemiluminescence was elicited from the reactions of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Heliotrine, retronecine, supinine, monocrotaline and echinatine N-oxide yielded chemiluminescence upon reaction with tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) whilst lasiocarpine, its N-oxide and supinine elicited light upon reaction with acidic potassium permanganate. Detection limits for heliotrine were 1.25 x 10{sup -7} M and 9 x 10{sup -9} M for tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(III) perchlorate with flow injection analysis (FIA) and the silica-immobilised reagent (4-[4-(dichloromethylsilanyl)-butyl]-4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridine)bis (2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) with sequential injection analysis (SIA), respectively. Lasiocarpine was detectable at 1.4 x 10{sup -7} M using acidic potassium permanganate with FIA. Additionally, the silica-immobilised reagent was optimised with respect to the oxidant (ammonium ceric nitrate) concentration and the aspiration times which afforded a detection limit for codeine of 5 x 10{sup -10} M using SIA.

When sad groups expect to meet again : Interactive affective sharing and future interaction expectation as determinants of work groups' analytical and creative task performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klep, Annefloor H. M.; Wisse, Barbara; van der Flier, Henk

2013-01-01

The present study examines the moderating role of future interaction expectation in the relationship between affective sharing and work groups' task performance. We argue that group affect, a group defining characteristic, becomes more salient to its members when it is interactively shared, and that

Identification of a Second Site of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Biosynthesis in Comfrey to Boost Plant Defense in Floral Stage.

Science.gov (United States)

Kruse, Lars H; Stegemann, Thomas; Sievert, Christian; Ober, Dietrich

2017-05-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are toxic secondary metabolites that are found in several distantly related families of the angiosperms. The first specific step in PA biosynthesis is catalyzed by homospermidine synthase (HSS), which has been recruited several times independently by duplication of the gene encoding deoxyhypusine synthase, an enzyme involved in the posttranslational activation of the eukaryotic initiation factor 5A. HSS shows highly diverse spatiotemporal gene expression in various PA-producing species. In comfrey ( Symphytum officinale ; Boraginaceae), PAs are reported to be synthesized in the roots, with HSS being localized in cells of the root endodermis. Here, we show that comfrey plants activate a second site of HSS expression when inflorescences start to develop. HSS has been localized in the bundle sheath cells of specific leaves. Tracer feeding experiments have confirmed that these young leaves express not only HSS but the whole PA biosynthetic route. This second site of PA biosynthesis results in drastically increased PA levels within the inflorescences. The boost of PA biosynthesis is proposed to guarantee optimal protection especially of the reproductive structures. © 2017 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

Affective Interaction with a Virtual Character through an fNIRS Brain-Computer Interface

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Gabor Aranyi

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Affective Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI harness Neuroscience knowledge to develop affective interaction from first principles. In this paper, we explore affective engagement with a virtual agent through Neurofeedback (NF. We report an experiment where subjects engage with a virtual agent by expressing positive attitudes towards her under a NF paradigm. We use for affective input the asymmetric activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DL-PFC, which has been previously found to be related to the high-level affective-motivational dimension of approach/avoidance. The magnitude of left-asymmetric DL-PFC activity, measured using fNIRS and treated as a proxy for approach, is mapped onto a control mechanism for the virtual agent’s facial expressions, in which Action Units are activated through a neural network. We carried out an experiment with 18 subjects, which demonstrated that subjects are able to successfully engage with the virtual agent by controlling their mental disposition through NF, and that they perceived the agent’s responses as realistic and consistent with their projected mental disposition. This interaction paradigm is particularly relevant in the case of affective BCI as it facilitates the volitional activation of specific areas normally not under conscious control. Overall, our contribution reconciles a model of affect derived from brain metabolic data with an ecologically valid, yet computationally controllable, virtual affective communication environment.

UPLC TOF MS for sensitive quantification of naturally occurring pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Petasites hybridus extract (Ze 339).

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Schenk, Alexander; Siewert, Beate; Toff, Stephan; Drewe, Jürgen

2015-08-01

Due to increasing regulatory awareness of their hepatotoxic, genotoxic and possibly carcinogenic potential, pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) content has to be thoroughly monitored in herbal medicinal preparations. Recently, new very low PA regulatory threshold concentrations have been requested by the authorities. Therefore, a highly sensitive and reproducible UPLC TOF MS method for the quantification of the PAs senkirkine, senecionine, seneciphylline, senecionine-N-oxide and seneciphylline-N-oxide in a CO2-extract of Petasites hybridus leaves (Ze 339) has been developed. The limit of quantification (LOQ) was 2ppb for all PAs. Recovery at the LOQ was between 88.9 and 141.9%, the repeatability precision between 3.5 and 13.6%. Linearity of the five PAs showed correlation coefficients between 0.9995 and 0.9998 and coefficients of variation between 7.44 and 8.56%. A working range between 2 ppb and 200 ppb could be fixed. In the tested batches of the P. hybridus extract Ze 339, the absence of PAs could be demonstrated. In conclusion, this assay allows to determine trace PA concentrations in P. hybridus extract Ze 339, making it suitable for analytical PA monitoring in accordance with regulatory requirements. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterization and screening of pyrrolizidine alkaloids and N-oxides from botanicals and dietary supplements using UHPLC-high resolution mass spectrometry.

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Avula, Bharathi; Sagi, Satyanarayanaraju; Wang, Yan-Hong; Zweigenbaum, Jerry; Wang, Mei; Khan, Ikhlas A

2015-07-01

The UHPLC-QToF-MS analysis of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) from various parts of 37 botanicals and 7 products was performed. A separation by LC was achieved using a reversed-phase column and a gradient of water/acetonitrile each containing formic acid as the mobile phase. MS-MS detection was used because of its high selectivity, and ability to provide structural information. Free base and N-oxides were observed by this method. PAs were analyzed and detected in plants from three different families, viz., Asteraceae, Boraginaceae and Fabaceae. The Asteraceae family was found to contain senecionine and lycopsamine type PAs. The Boraginaceae family contained lycopsamine and heliotrine type PAs and the Fabaceae family contained senecionine and monocrotaline type PAs. These PAs may serve as important markers for the detection of these plant materials in food and dietary supplements. PAs were identified in 44 samples by comparing their retention times, accurate mass and mass fragmentation patterns with those of 25 reference standards. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Affect recognition and the quality of mother-infant interaction: understanding parenting difficulties in mothers with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Healy, Sarah J; Lewin, Jona; Butler, Stephen; Vaillancourt, Kyla; Seth-Smith, Fiona

2016-02-01

This study investigated the quality of mother-infant interaction and maternal ability to recognise adult affect in three study groups consisting of mothers with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, mothers with depression and healthy controls. Sixty-four mothers were recruited from a Mother and Baby Unit and local children's centres. A 5-min mother-infant interaction was coded on a number of caregiving variables. Affect recognition and discrimination abilities were tested via a series of computerised tasks. Group differences were found both in measures of affect recognition and in the mother-infant interaction. Mothers with schizophrenia showed consistent impairments across most of the parenting measures and all measures of affect recognition and discrimination. Mothers with depression fell between the mothers with schizophrenia and healthy controls on most measures. However, depressed women's parenting was not significantly poorer than controls on any of the measures, and only showed trends for differences with mothers with schizophrenia on a few measures. Regression analyses found impairments in affect recognition and a diagnosis of schizophrenia to predict the occurrence of odd or unusual speech in the mother-infant interaction. Results add to the growing body of knowledge on the mother-infant interaction in mothers with schizophrenia and mothers with depression compared to healthy controls, suggesting a need for parenting interventions aimed at mothers with these conditions. While affect recognition impairments were not found to fully explain differences in parenting among women with schizophrenia, further research is needed to understand the psychopathology of parenting disturbances within this clinical group.

Spatial heterogeneity of plant-soil feedback affects root interactions and interspecific competition.

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Hendriks, Marloes; Ravenek, Janneke M; Smit-Tiekstra, Annemiek E; van der Paauw, Jan Willem; de Caluwe, Hannie; van der Putten, Wim H; de Kroon, Hans; Mommer, Liesje

2015-08-01

Plant-soil feedback is receiving increasing interest as a factor influencing plant competition and species coexistence in grasslands. However, we do not know how spatial distribution of plant-soil feedback affects plant below-ground interactions. We investigated the way in which spatial heterogeneity of soil biota affects competitive interactions in grassland plant species. We performed a pairwise competition experiment combined with heterogeneous distribution of soil biota using four grassland plant species and their soil biota. Patches were applied as quadrants of 'own' and 'foreign' soils from all plant species in all pairwise combinations. To evaluate interspecific root responses, species-specific root biomass was quantified using real-time PCR. All plant species suffered negative soil feedback, but strength was species-specific, reflected by a decrease in root growth in own compared with foreign soil. Reduction in root growth in own patches by the superior plant competitor provided opportunities for inferior competitors to increase root biomass in these patches. These patterns did not cascade into above-ground effects during our experiment. We show that root distributions can be determined by spatial heterogeneity of soil biota, affecting plant below-ground competitive interactions. Thus, spatial heterogeneity of soil biota may contribute to plant species coexistence in species-rich grasslands. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

Emotion in languaging: Language and emotion as affective, adaptive and flexible behavior in social interaction

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Thomas Wiben Jensen

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This article argues for a view on languaging as inherently affective. Informed by recent ecological tendencies within cognitive science and distributed language studies a distinction between first order languaging (language as whole-body sense making and second order language (language as system like constraints is put forward. Contrary to common assumptions within linguistics and communication studies separating language-as-a-system from language use (resulting in separations between language vs. body-language and verbal vs. non-verbal communication etc. the first/second order distinction sees language as emanating from behavior making it possible to view emotion and affect as integral parts languaging behavior. Likewise, emotion and affect are studied, not as inner mental states, but as processes of organism-environment interactions. Based on video recordings of interaction between 1 children with special needs, and 2 couple in therapy and the therapist patterns of reciprocal influences between interactants are examined. Through analyzes of affective stance and patterns of inter-affectivity it is exemplified how language and emotion should not be seen as separate phenomena combined in language use, but rather as completely intertwined phenomena in languaging behavior constrained by second order patterns.

Acidification and warming affect both a calcifying predator and prey, but not their interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Landes, Anja; Zimmer, Martin

2012-01-01

Both ocean warming and acidification have been demonstrated to affect the growth, performance and reproductive success of calcifying invertebrates. However, relatively little is known regarding how such environmental change may affect interspecific interactions. We separately treated green crabs...... to environmental change. Acidification negatively affected the closer-muscle length of the crusher chela and correspondingly the claw-strength increment in C. maenas. The effects of warming and/or acidification on L. littorea were less consistent but indicated weaker shells in response to acidification...... Carcinus maenas and periwinkles Littorina littorea under conditions that mimicked either ambient conditions (control) or warming and acidification, both separately and in combination, for 5 mo. After 5 mo, the predators, prey and predator-prey interactions were screened for changes in response...

Automatic Control of Contextual Interaction Integrated with Affection and Architectural Attentional Control

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Yanrong Jiang

2013-03-01

Full Text Available It is still a challenge for robots to interact with complex environments in a smooth and natural manner. The robot should be aware of its surroundings and inner status to make decisions accordingly and appropriately. Contexts benefit the interaction a lot, such as avoiding frequent interruptions (e.g., the explicit inputting requests and thus are essential for interaction. Other challenges, such as shifting attentional focus to a more important stimulus, etc., are also crucial in interaction control. This paper presents a hybrid automatic control approach for interaction, as well as its integration, with these multiple important factors, aiming at performing natural, human-like interactions in robots. In particular, a novel approach of architectural attentional control, based on affection is presented, which attempts to shift the attentional focus in a natural manner. Context-aware computing is combined with interaction to endow the robot with proactive abilities. The long-term interaction control approaches are described. Emotion and personality are introduced into the interaction and their influence mechanism on interaction is explored. We implemented the proposal in an interactive head robot (IHR and the experimental results indicate the effectiveness.

Varying Herbivore Population Structure Correlates with Lack of Local Adaptation in a Geographic Variable Plant-Herbivore Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Cogni, Rodrigo; Trigo, José R.; Futuyma, Douglas J.

2011-01-01

Local adaptation of parasites to their hosts due to coevolution is a central prediction of many theories in evolutionary biology. However, empirical studies looking for parasite local adaptation show great variation in outcomes, and the reasons for such variation are largely unknown. In a previous study, we showed adaptive differentiation in the arctiid moth Utetheisa ornatrix to its host plant, the pyrrolizidine alkaloid-bearing legume Crotalaria pallida, at the continental scale, but found no differentiation at the regional scale. In the present study, we sampled the same sites to investigate factors that may contribute to the lack of differentiation at the regional scale. We performed field observations that show that specialist and non-specialist polyphagous herbivore incidence varies among populations at both scales. With a series of common-garden experiments we show that some plant traits that may affect herbivory (pyrrolizidine alkaloids and extrafloral nectaries) vary at the regional scale, while other traits (trichomes and nitrogen content) just vary at the continental scale. These results, combined with our previous evidence for plant population differentiation based on larval performance on fresh fruits, suggest that U. ornatrix is subjected to divergent selection even at the regional scale. Finally, with a microsatellite study we investigated population structure of U. ornatrix. We found that population structure is not stable over time: we found population differentiation at the regional scale in the first year of sampling, but not in the second year. Unstable population structure of the herbivore is the most likely cause of the lack of regional adaptation. PMID:22220208

Varying herbivore population structure correlates with lack of local adaptation in a geographic variable plant-herbivore interaction.

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Rodrigo Cogni

Full Text Available Local adaptation of parasites to their hosts due to coevolution is a central prediction of many theories in evolutionary biology. However, empirical studies looking for parasite local adaptation show great variation in outcomes, and the reasons for such variation are largely unknown. In a previous study, we showed adaptive differentiation in the arctiid moth Utetheisa ornatrix to its host plant, the pyrrolizidine alkaloid-bearing legume Crotalaria pallida, at the continental scale, but found no differentiation at the regional scale. In the present study, we sampled the same sites to investigate factors that may contribute to the lack of differentiation at the regional scale. We performed field observations that show that specialist and non-specialist polyphagous herbivore incidence varies among populations at both scales. With a series of common-garden experiments we show that some plant traits that may affect herbivory (pyrrolizidine alkaloids and extrafloral nectaries vary at the regional scale, while other traits (trichomes and nitrogen content just vary at the continental scale. These results, combined with our previous evidence for plant population differentiation based on larval performance on fresh fruits, suggest that U. ornatrix is subjected to divergent selection even at the regional scale. Finally, with a microsatellite study we investigated population structure of U. ornatrix. We found that population structure is not stable over time: we found population differentiation at the regional scale in the first year of sampling, but not in the second year. Unstable population structure of the herbivore is the most likely cause of the lack of regional adaptation.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in honey: comparison of analytical methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Kempf, M; Wittig, M; Reinhard, A; von der Ohe, K; Blacquière, T; Raezke, K-P; Michel, R; Schreier, P; Beuerle, T

2011-03-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a structurally diverse group of toxicologically relevant secondary plant metabolites. Currently, two analytical methods are used to determine PA content in honey. To achieve reasonably high sensitivity and selectivity, mass spectrometry detection is demanded. One method is an HPLC-ESI-MS-MS approach, the other a sum parameter method utilising HRGC-EI-MS operated in the selected ion monitoring mode (SIM). To date, no fully validated or standardised method exists to measure the PA content in honey. To establish an LC-MS method, several hundred standard pollen analysis results of raw honey were analysed. Possible PA plants were identified and typical commercially available marker PA-N-oxides (PANOs). Three distinct honey sets were analysed with both methods. Set A consisted of pure Echium honey (61-80% Echium pollen). Echium is an attractive bee plant. It is quite common in all temperate zones worldwide and is one of the major reasons for PA contamination in honey. Although only echimidine/echimidine-N-oxide were available as reference for the LC-MS target approach, the results for both analytical techniques matched very well (n = 8; PA content ranging from 311 to 520 µg kg(-1)). The second batch (B) consisted of a set of randomly picked raw honeys, mostly originating from Eupatorium spp. (0-15%), another common PA plant, usually characterised by the occurrence of lycopsamine-type PA. Again, the results showed good consistency in terms of PA-positive samples and quantification results (n = 8; ranging from 0 to 625 µg kg(-1) retronecine equivalents). The last set (C) was obtained by consciously placing beehives in areas with a high abundance of Jacobaea vulgaris (ragwort) from the Veluwe region (the Netherlands). J. vulgaris increasingly invades countrysides in Central Europe, especially areas with reduced farming or sites with natural restorations. Honey from two seasons (2007 and 2008) was sampled. While only trace amounts of

Identification of a Second Site of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Biosynthesis in Comfrey to Boost Plant Defense in Floral Stage1,2[OPEN

Science.gov (United States)

Stegemann, Thomas; Sievert, Christian

2017-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are toxic secondary metabolites that are found in several distantly related families of the angiosperms. The first specific step in PA biosynthesis is catalyzed by homospermidine synthase (HSS), which has been recruited several times independently by duplication of the gene encoding deoxyhypusine synthase, an enzyme involved in the posttranslational activation of the eukaryotic initiation factor 5A. HSS shows highly diverse spatiotemporal gene expression in various PA-producing species. In comfrey (Symphytum officinale; Boraginaceae), PAs are reported to be synthesized in the roots, with HSS being localized in cells of the root endodermis. Here, we show that comfrey plants activate a second site of HSS expression when inflorescences start to develop. HSS has been localized in the bundle sheath cells of specific leaves. Tracer feeding experiments have confirmed that these young leaves express not only HSS but the whole PA biosynthetic route. This second site of PA biosynthesis results in drastically increased PA levels within the inflorescences. The boost of PA biosynthesis is proposed to guarantee optimal protection especially of the reproductive structures. PMID:28275146

Investigation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids and their N-oxides in commercial comfrey-containing products and botanical materials by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Altamirano, Jorgelina C; Gratz, Samuel R; Wolnik, Karen A

2005-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and their N-oxides are found in several plant families throughout the world. PAs are potentially toxic to the liver and/or lungs in humans and may cause acute liver failure, cirrhosis, pneumonitis, or pulmonary hypertension. PAs are also carcinogenic to animals, and they have been linked to the development of hepatocellular and skin squamous cell carcinomas as well as liver angiosarcomas. According to experimental studies, the quantity of PAs in some herbal teas and dietary supplements is sufficient to be carcinogenic in exposed individuals. A method for the extraction and identification of PAs and their N-oxides in botanical materials and commercial comfrey-containing products has been developed using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Following optimization of the extraction procedure and the chromatographic conditions, the method was applied to the analysis of 10 herbal remedies. All of the products that were labeled to contain comfrey were found to contain measurable quantities of PAs.

Interaction between Task Oriented and Affective Information Processing in Cognitive Robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Haazebroek, Pascal; van Dantzig, Saskia; Hommel, Bernhard

There is an increasing interest in endowing robots with emotions. Robot control however is still often very task oriented. We present a cognitive architecture that allows the combination of and interaction between task representations and affective information processing. Our model is validated by comparing simulation results with empirical data from experimental psychology.

Unsupportive social interactions and affective states: examining associations of two oxytocin-related polymorphisms.

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McInnis, Opal A; McQuaid, Robyn J; Matheson, Kimberly; Anisman, Hymie

2017-01-01

Two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on oxytocin-related genes, specifically the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) rs53576 and the CD38 rs3796863 variants, have been associated with alterations in prosocial behaviors. A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students (N = 476) to examine associations between the OXTR and CD38 polymorphisms and unsupportive social interactions and mood states. Results revealed no association between perceived levels of unsupportive social interactions and the OXTR polymorphism. However, A carriers of the CD38 polymorphism, a variant previously associated with elevated oxytocin, reported greater perceived peer unsupportive interactions compared to CC carriers. As expected, perceived unsupportive interactions from peers was associated with greater negative affect, which was moderated by the CD38 polymorphism. Specifically, this relation was stronger among CC carriers of the CD38 polymorphism (a variant thought to be linked to lower oxytocin). When examining whether the OXTR polymorphism moderated the relation between unsupportive social interactions from peers and negative affect there was a trend toward significance, however, this did not withstand multiple testing corrections. These findings are consistent with the perspective that a variant on an oxytocin polymorphism that may be tied to lower oxytocin is related to poor mood outcomes in association with negative social interactions. At the same time, having a genetic constitution presumed to be associated with higher oxytocin was related to increased perceptions of unsupportive social interactions. These seemingly paradoxical findings could be related to previous reports in which variants associated with prosocial behaviors were also tied to relatively more effective coping styles to deal with challenges.

Crystal structure of 2′-[(2′,4′-difluorobiphenyl-4-ylcarbonyl]-1′-phenyl-1′,2′,5′,6′,7′,7a'-hexahydrospiro[indole-3,3′-pyrrolizin]-2(1H-one

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Fathimunnisa

2015-08-01

Full Text Available In the title pyrrolizidine derivative, C33H26F2N2O2, both pyrrolidine rings of the pyrrolizidine moiety adopt an envelope conformation. The difluorophenyl group is oriented at an angle of 54.3 (1° with respect to the oxindole moiety. The crystal packing features an N—H...O hydrogen bond, which forms an R22(8 motif, and a C—H...O interaction, which generates a C(8 chain along [010]. In addition, this chain structure is stabilized by C—H...π interactions. In one of the pyrrolidine rings, the methylene group forming the flap of an envelope and the H atoms of the adjacent methylene groups are disordered over two sets of sites, with site-occupancy factors of 0.571 (4 and 0.429 (4

The long persistence of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-derived DNA adducts in vivo: kinetic study following single and multiple exposures in male ICR mice.

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Zhu, Lin; Xue, Junyi; Xia, Qingsu; Fu, Peter P; Lin, Ge

2017-02-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA)-containing plants are widespread in the world and the most common poisonous plants affecting livestock, wildlife, and humans. Our previous studies demonstrated that PA-derived DNA adducts can potentially be a common biological biomarker of PA-induced liver tumor formation. In order to validate the use of these PA-derived DNA adducts as a biomarker, it is necessary to understand the basic kinetics of the PA-derived DNA adducts formed in vivo. In this study, we studied the dose-dependent response and kinetics of PA-derived DNA adduct formation and removal in male ICR mice orally administered with a single dose (40 mg/kg) or multiple doses (10 mg/kg/day) of retrorsine, a representative carcinogenic PA. In the single-dose exposure, the PA-derived DNA adducts exhibited dose-dependent linearity and persisted for up to 4 weeks. The removal of the adducts following a single-dose exposure to retrorsine was biphasic with half-lives of 9 h (t 1/2α ) and 301 h (~12.5 days, t 1/2β ). In the 8-week multiple exposure study, a marked accumulation of PA-derived DNA adducts without attaining a steady state was observed. The removal of adducts after the multiple exposure also demonstrated a biphasic pattern but with much extended half-lives of 176 h (~7.33 days, t 1/2α ) and 1736 h (~72.3 days, t 1/2β ). The lifetime of PA-derived DNA adducts was more than 8 weeks following the multiple-dose treatment. The significant persistence of PA-derived DNA adducts in vivo supports their role in serving as a biomarker of PA exposure.

First evidence of pyrrolizidine alkaloid N-oxide-induced hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Mengbi; Ruan, Jianqing; Gao, Hong; Li, Na; Ma, Jiang; Xue, Junyi; Ye, Yang; Fu, Peter Pi-Cheng; Wang, Jiyao; Lin, Ge

2017-12-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are among the most potent phytotoxins widely distributed in plant species around the world. PA is one of the major causes responsible for the development of hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS) and exerts hepatotoxicity via metabolic activation to form the reactive metabolites, which bind with cellular proteins to generate pyrrole-protein adducts, leading to hepatotoxicity. PA N-oxides coexist with their corresponding PAs in plants with varied quantities, sometimes even higher than that of PAs, but the toxicity of PA N-oxides remains unclear. The current study unequivocally identified PA N-oxides as the sole or predominant form of PAs in 18 Gynura segetum herbal samples ingested by patients with liver damage. For the first time, PA N-oxides were recorded to induce HSOS in human. PA N-oxide-induced hepatotoxicity was further confirmed on mice orally dosed of herbal extract containing 170 μmol PA N-oxides/kg/day, with its hepatotoxicity similar to but potency much lower than the corresponding PAs. Furthermore, toxicokinetic study after a single oral dose of senecionine N-oxide (55 μmol/kg) on rats revealed the toxic mechanism that PA N-oxides induced hepatotoxicity via their biotransformation to the corresponding PAs followed by the metabolic activation to form pyrrole-protein adducts. The remarkable differences in toxicokinetic profiles of PAs and PA N-oxides were found and attributed to their significantly different hepatotoxic potency. The findings of PA N-oxide-induced hepatotoxicity in humans and rodents suggested that the contents of both PAs and PA N-oxides present in herbs and foods should be regulated and controlled in use.

Ecological Momentary Assessment of social functioning in schizophrenia: impact of performance appraisals and affect on social interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Granholm, Eric; Ben-Zeev, Dror; Fulford, Daniel; Swendsen, Joel

2013-04-01

Research concerning the complex interplay between factors that contribute to poor social functioning in schizophrenia has been hampered by limitations of traditional measures, most notably the ecological validity and accuracy of retrospective self-report and interview measures. Computerized Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMAc) permits the real-time assessment of relationships between daily life experiences, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. In the current study, EMAc was used to record daily social interactions, subjective performance appraisals of these interactions (e.g., "I succeeded/failed"; "I was liked/rejected"), and affect in 145 individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Participants completed electronic questionnaires on a personal digital assistant (PDA) four times per day for one week. Time-lagged multilevel modeling of the data revealed that more positive interaction appraisals at any point in a day were associated with greater positive affect which, in turn, was a strong predictor of more social interactions over subsequent hours. Social functioning, therefore, was linked to positive performance beliefs about social interactions that were associated with greater positive affect. The findings suggest a useful treatment target for cognitive behavioral therapy and other psychosocial interventions that can be used to challenge defeatist beliefs and increase positive affect to enhance social functioning in schizophrenia. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in herbal medicines commonly used in Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Letsyo, Emmanuel; Jerz, Gerold; Winterhalter, Peter; Beuerle, Till

2017-04-18

Herbal medicines have been used for centuries for the management and treatment of various ailments due to the belief that they pose only little or no health risk and side effects, and also, in part, due to their availability, affordability and/or self-supply. However, the increasing information over the recent years on the occurrence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in honey, herbal food and tea products has raised concerns about the safety of herbal medicines with respect to contamination. To this day, little is known on the occurrence of toxic PAs in herbal medicines, especially in tropical West Africa. The aim of this study was therefore to determine the PA content of 70 well-known and widely patronized plant-derived medicinal preparations, which are commercialized in Ghana and some West African countries, in order to ascertain their potential health risk. PAs of the herbal medicinal products, sourced from specialized drugstores and mostly regulatory approved, were analyzed for their PA content by a HPLC-ESI-MS/MS sum parameter method. The results show that a total of 60% of the analyzed herbal products were PA positive, indicating an average PA-concentration of 25.0μg/kg. The maximum PA level (1290.0μg/kg) was attributed to a regulatory-approved herbal medicine not known, according to the list of declared ingredients, to contain PA-plant parts. Interestingly, higher PA content (average, 30.2μg/kg) was detected in regulatory-approved herbal medicines, in contrast to lower amount (average, 8.0μg/kg) detected in non-regulatory-approved products. The findings of this study clearly demonstrate that herbal medicines containing PA plants as ingredients, as well as some of those containing plant species not known to produce PAs, are likely to contain hepatotoxic PA at levels higher than the daily dose in food and herbal medicinal products proposed by the European Medicines Agency (i.e. 0.35μg PA per day for 50kg adult and 0.14μg PA per day for 20kg children

Detection of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in German licensed herbal medicinal teas.

Science.gov (United States)

Schulz, M; Meins, J; Diemert, S; Zagermann-Muncke, P; Goebel, R; Schrenk, D; Schubert-Zsilavecz, M; Abdel-Tawab, M

2015-06-01

Because of the hepatotoxic, mutagenic, and cancerogenic effects of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) recommends not to exceed a daily PA intake of 0.007 µg/kg body weight (0.42 µg/60 kg adult). In a recent study conducted by the BfR, up to 5647 µg PA/kg dried herbal material were detected in tea products marketed as food. The present study aimed at elucidating whether medicinal teas licensed or registered as medicinal products contain PAs as well. One hundred sixty-nine different commercially available medicinal teas, i.e. 19 nettle (Urtica dioica L.), 12 fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), 14 chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.), 11 melissa (Melissa officinalis L.) and 4 peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) teas as well as 109 tea mixtures were analyzed for the presence of 23 commercially available PAs. LC/MS was used for the determination of the PAs In general, the total PA contents ranging 0-5668 µg/kg. Thirty percent of the tested single-ingredient tea products and 56.9% of the tested medicinal tea mixtures were found to contain PA concentrations above the limit of quantification (LOQ) of 10 µg/kg. In 11 medicinal teas PA contents >300 µg/kg dry herb were determined thus exceeding the recommended limit for PA intake by BfR. In addition three products of the investigated tea mixtures revealed extremely high PA contents of 4227, 5137, and 5668 µg/kg. Generally, single-ingredient tea products contained much less or even no detectable amounts of PAs when compared to the tea mixtures. PAs in the range between 13 and 1080 µg/kg were also detected in five analyzed aqueous herbal infusions of the medicinal tea mixture products with the highest PA content. Two out of the five investigated herbal infusions exceeded the recommended BfR limit for PA intake. This study demonstrates clearly that also medicinal teas licensed as medicinal products may partly contain high amounts of PAs exceeding current recommendations. For

Warming, CO2, and nitrogen deposition interactively affect a plant-pollinator mutualism.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoover, Shelley E R; Ladley, Jenny J; Shchepetkina, Anastasia A; Tisch, Maggie; Gieseg, Steven P; Tylianakis, Jason M

2012-03-01

Environmental changes threaten plant-pollinator mutualisms and their critical ecosystem service. Drivers such as land use, invasions and climate change can affect pollinator diversity or species encounter rates. However, nitrogen deposition, climate warming and CO(2) enrichment could interact to disrupt this crucial mutualism by altering plant chemistry in ways that alter floral attractiveness or even nutritional rewards for pollinators. Using a pumpkin model system, we show that these drivers non-additively affect flower morphology, phenology, flower sex ratios and nectar chemistry (sugar and amino acids), thereby altering the attractiveness of nectar to bumble bee pollinators and reducing worker longevity. Alarmingly, bees were attracted to, and consumed more, nectar from a treatment that reduced their survival by 22%. Thus, three of the five major drivers of global environmental change have previously unknown interactive effects on plant-pollinator mutualisms that could not be predicted from studies of individual drivers in isolation. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Situational motivation and perceived intensity: their interaction in predicting changes in positive affect from physical activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Guérin, Eva; Fortier, Michelle S

2012-01-01

There is evidence that affective experiences surrounding physical activity can contribute to the proper self-regulation of an active lifestyle. Motivation toward physical activity, as portrayed by self-determination theory, has been linked to positive affect, as has the intensity of physical activity, especially of a preferred nature. The purpose of this experimental study was to examine the interaction between situational motivation and intensity [i.e., ratings of perceived exertion (RPE)] in predicting changes in positive affect following an acute bout of preferred physical activity, namely, running. Fourty-one female runners engaged in a 30-minute self-paced treadmill run in a laboratory context. Situational motivation for running, pre- and post-running positive affect, and RPE were assessed via validated self-report questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed a significant interaction effect between RPE and introjection (P positive affect was considerable, with higher RPE ratings being associated with greater increases in positive affect. The implications of the findings in light of SDT principles as well as the potential contingencies between the regulations and RPE in predicting positive affect among women are discussed.

Metabolic Profiling of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Foliage of Two Echium spp. Invaders in Australia—A Case of Novel Weapons?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dominik Skoneczny

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Metabolic profiling allows for simultaneous and rapid annotation of biochemically similar organismal metabolites. An effective platform for profiling of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs and their N-oxides (PANOs was developed using ultra high pressure liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight (UHPLC-QTOF mass spectrometry. Field-collected populations of invasive Australian weeds, Echium plantagineum and E. vulgare were raised under controlled glasshouse conditions and surveyed for the presence of related PAs and PANOs in leaf tissues at various growth stages. Echium plantagineum possessed numerous related and abundant PANOs (>17 by seven days following seed germination, and these were also observed in rosette and flowering growth stages. In contrast, the less invasive E. vulgare accumulated significantly lower levels of most PANOs under identical glasshouse conditions. Several previously unreported PAs were also found at trace levels. Field-grown populations of both species were also evaluated for PA production and highly toxic echimidine N-oxide was amongst the most abundant PANOs in foliage of both species. PAs in field and glasshouse plants were more abundant in the more widely invasive species, E. plantagineum, and may provide competitive advantage by increasing the plant’s capacity to deter natural enemies in its invaded range through production of novel weapons.

Metabolic Profiling of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Foliage of Two Echium spp. Invaders in Australia—A Case of Novel Weapons?

Science.gov (United States)

Skoneczny, Dominik; Weston, Paul A.; Zhu, Xiaocheng; Gurr, Geoff M.; Callaway, Ragan M.; Weston, Leslie A.

2015-01-01

Metabolic profiling allows for simultaneous and rapid annotation of biochemically similar organismal metabolites. An effective platform for profiling of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and their N-oxides (PANOs) was developed using ultra high pressure liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight (UHPLC-QTOF) mass spectrometry. Field-collected populations of invasive Australian weeds, Echium plantagineum and E. vulgare were raised under controlled glasshouse conditions and surveyed for the presence of related PAs and PANOs in leaf tissues at various growth stages. Echium plantagineum possessed numerous related and abundant PANOs (>17) by seven days following seed germination, and these were also observed in rosette and flowering growth stages. In contrast, the less invasive E. vulgare accumulated significantly lower levels of most PANOs under identical glasshouse conditions. Several previously unreported PAs were also found at trace levels. Field-grown populations of both species were also evaluated for PA production and highly toxic echimidine N-oxide was amongst the most abundant PANOs in foliage of both species. PAs in field and glasshouse plants were more abundant in the more widely invasive species, E. plantagineum, and may provide competitive advantage by increasing the plant’s capacity to deter natural enemies in its invaded range through production of novel weapons. PMID:26561809

Metabolic Profiling of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Foliage of Two Echium spp. Invaders in Australia--A Case of Novel Weapons?

Science.gov (United States)

Skoneczny, Dominik; Weston, Paul A; Zhu, Xiaocheng; Gurr, Geoff M; Callaway, Ragan M; Weston, Leslie A

2015-11-06

Metabolic profiling allows for simultaneous and rapid annotation of biochemically similar organismal metabolites. An effective platform for profiling of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and their N-oxides (PANOs) was developed using ultra high pressure liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight (UHPLC-QTOF) mass spectrometry. Field-collected populations of invasive Australian weeds, Echium plantagineum and E. vulgare were raised under controlled glasshouse conditions and surveyed for the presence of related PAs and PANOs in leaf tissues at various growth stages. Echium plantagineum possessed numerous related and abundant PANOs (>17) by seven days following seed germination, and these were also observed in rosette and flowering growth stages. In contrast, the less invasive E. vulgare accumulated significantly lower levels of most PANOs under identical glasshouse conditions. Several previously unreported PAs were also found at trace levels. Field-grown populations of both species were also evaluated for PA production and highly toxic echimidine N-oxide was amongst the most abundant PANOs in foliage of both species. PAs in field and glasshouse plants were more abundant in the more widely invasive species, E. plantagineum, and may provide competitive advantage by increasing the plant's capacity to deter natural enemies in its invaded range through production of novel weapons.

Interactive effects of music tempi and intensities on grip strength and subjective affect.

Science.gov (United States)

Karageorghis, C I; Cheek, P; Simpson, S D; Bigliassi, M

2018-03-01

Pretask music is widely used by athletes albeit there is scant empirical evidence to support its use. The present study extended a line of work into pretask music by examining the interactive effects of music tempo and intensity (volume) on the performance of a simple motor skill and subjective affect. A 2 × 2 within-subjects factorial design was employed with an additional no-music control, the scores from which were used as a covariate. A sample of 52 male athletes (M age  = 26.1 ± 4.8 years) was exposed to five conditions: fast/loud (126 bpm/80 dBA), fast/quiet (126 bpm/70 dBA), slow/loud (87 bpm/80 dBA), slow/quiet (87 bpm/70 dBA) music, and a no-music control. Dependent variables were grip strength, measured with a handgrip dynamometer, and subjective affect, assessed by use of the Affect Grid. The tempo and intensity components of music had interactive effects for grip strength but only main effects for subjective affect. Fast-tempo music played at a high intensity yielded the highest grip strength, while fast-tempo music played at a low-intensity resulted in much lower grip strength (M diff.  = -1.11 Force kg). For affective valence, there were main effects of tempo and intensity, with fast and loud music yielding the highest scores. For affective arousal, there was no difference between tempi although there was between intensities, with the high-intensity condition yielding higher scores. The present findings indicate the utility of fast/loud pretask music in enhancing affective valence and arousal in preparation for a simple or gross motor task. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Seasonal Influences on Ground-Surface Water Interactions in an Arsenic-Affected Aquifer in Cambodia

Science.gov (United States)

Richards, L. A.; Magnone, D.; Van Dongen, B.; Bryant, C.; Boyce, A.; Ballentine, C. J.; Polya, D. A.

2015-12-01

Millions of people in South and Southeast Asia consume drinking water daily which contains dangerous levels of arsenic exceeding health-based recommendations [1]. A key control on arsenic mobilization in aquifers in these areas has been controversially identified as the interaction of 'labile' organic matter contained in surface waters with groundwaters and sediments at depth [2-4], which may trigger the release of arsenic from the solid- to aqueous-phase via reductive dissolution of iron-(hyr)oxide minerals [5]. In a field site in Kandal Province, Cambodia, which is an arsenic-affected area typical to others in the region, there are strong seasonal patterns in groundwater flow direction, which are closely related to monsoonal rains [6] and may contribute to arsenic release in this aquifer. The aim of this study is to explore the implications of the high susceptibility of this aquifer system to seasonal changes on potential ground-surface water interactions. The main objectives are to (i) identify key zones where there are likely ground-surface water interactions, (ii) assess the seasonal impact of such interactions and (iii) quantify the influence of interactions using geochemical parameters (such as As, Fe, NO3, NH4, 14C, 3T/3He, δ18O, δ2H). Identifying the zones, magnitude and seasonal influence of ground-surface water interactions elucidates new information regarding potential locations/pathways of arsenic mobilization and/or transport in affected aquifers and may be important for water management strategies in affected areas. This research is supported by NERC (NE/J023833/1) to DP, BvD and CJB and a NERC PhD studentship (NE/L501591/1) to DM. References: [1] World Health Organization, 2008. [2] Charlet & Polya (2006), Elements, 2, 91-96. [3] Harvey et al. (2002), Science, 298, 1602-1606. [4] Lawson et al. (2013), Env. Sci. Technol. 47, 7085 - 7094. [5] Islam et al. (2004), Nature, 430, 68-71. [6] Benner et al. (2008) Appl. Geochem. 23(11), 3072 - 3087.

BRCA1 affects lipid synthesis through its interaction with acetyl-CoA carboxylase.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreau, Karen; Dizin, Eva; Ray, Hind; Luquain, Céline; Lefai, Etienne; Foufelle, Fabienne; Billaud, Marc; Lenoir, Gilbert M; Venezia, Nicole Dalla

2006-02-10

Germ line alterations in BRCA1 (breast cancer susceptibility gene 1) are associated with an increased susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer. BRCA1 acts as a scaffold protein implicated in multiple cellular functions, such as transcription, DNA repair, and ubiquitination. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for tumorigenesis are not yet fully understood. We have recently demonstrated that BRCA1 interacts in vivo with acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase alpha (ACCA) through its tandem of BRCA1 C terminus (BRCT) domains. To understand the biological function of the BRCA1.ACCA complex, we sought to determine whether BRCA1 is a regulator of lipogenesis through its interaction with ACCA. We showed here that RNA inhibition-mediated down-regulation of BRCA1 expression induced a marked increase in the fatty acid synthesis. We then delineated the biochemical characteristics of the complex and found that BRCA1 interacts solely with the phosphorylated and inactive form of ACCA (P-ACCA). Finally, we demonstrated that BRCA1 affects lipid synthesis by preventing P-ACCA dephosphorylation. These results suggest that BRCA1 affects lipogenesis through binding to P-ACCA, providing a new mechanism by which BRCA1 may exert a tumor suppressor function.

Quantification of the Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Jacobine in Crassocephalum crepidioides by Cation Exchange High-Performance Liquid Chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozhon, Wilfried; Kammermeier, Lukas; Schramm, Sebastian; Towfique, Nayeem; Adebimpe Adedeji, N; Adesola Ajayi, S; Poppenberger, Brigitte

2018-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are secondary plant metabolites with considerable hepatoxic, tumorigenic and genotoxic potential. For separation, reversed phase chromatography is commonly used because of its excellent compatibility with detection by mass spectrometry. However, reversed phase chromatography has a low selectivity for PAs. The objective of this work was to investigate the suitability of cation exchange chromatography for separation of PAs and to develop a rapid method for quantification of jacobine in Crassocephalum crepidioides that is suitable for analysis of huge sample numbers as required for mutant screening procedures. We demonstrate that cation exchange chromatography offers excellent selectivity for PAs allowing their separation from most other plant metabolites. Due to the high selectivity, plant extracts can be directly analysed after simple sample preparation. Detection with UV at 200 nm instead of mass spectrometry can be applied, which makes the method very simple and cost-effective. The recovery rate of the method exceeded 95%, the intra-day and inter-day standard deviations were below 7% and the limit of detection and quantification were 1 mg/kg and 3 mg/kg, respectively. The developed method is sufficiently sensitive for reproducible detection of jacobine in C. crepidioides. Simple sample preparation and rapid separation allows for quantification of jacobine in plant material in a high-throughput manner. Thus, the method is suitable for genetic screenings and may be applicable for other plant species, for instance Jacobaea maritima. In addition, our results show that C. crepidioides cannot be considered safe for human consumption. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Multiple heart-cutting two dimensional liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry of pyrrolizidine alkaloids.

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van de Schans, Milou G M; Blokland, Marco H; Zoontjes, Paul W; Mulder, Patrick P J; Nielen, Michel W F

2017-06-23

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and their and the corresponding N-oxides (PAs-ox) are genotoxic plant metabolites which can be present as unwanted contaminants in food products of herbal origin like tea and food supplements. PAs and PAs-ox come in a wide variety of molecular structures including many structural isomers. For toxicity assessment it is important to determine the composition of a sample and to resolve all isomeric PAs and PAs-ox, which is currently not possible in one liquid or gas chromatographic (LC or GC) run. In this study an online two dimensional liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (2D-LC QToF-MS) method was developed to resolve isomeric PAs and PAs-ox. After comprehensive column and mobile phase selection a polar endcapped C 18 column was used at pH 3 in the first dimension, and a cross-linked C 18 column at pH 10 in the second dimension. Injection solvents, column IDs, flow rates and temperatures were carefully optimized. The method with column selection valve switching described in this study was able to resolve and visualize 20 individual PAs/PAs-ox (6 sets of isomers) in one 2D-LC QToF-MS run. Moreover, it was shown that all isomeric PAs/PAs-ox could be unambiguously annotated. The method was shown to be applicable for the determination and quantification of isomeric PAs/PAs-ox in plant extracts and could be easily extended to include other PAs and PAs-ox. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chronic and Daily Stressors Along With Negative Affect Interact to Predict Daily Tiredness.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartsell, Elizabeth N; Neupert, Shevaun D

2017-11-01

The present study examines the within-person relationship of daily stressors and tiredness and whether this depends on daily negative affect and individual differences in chronic stress. One hundred sixteen older adult participants were recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk for a 9-day daily diary study. Daily tiredness, daily stressors, and negative affect were measured each day, and chronic stress was measured at baseline. Daily stressors, daily negative affect, and chronic stress interacted to predict daily tiredness. People with high chronic stress who experienced an increase in daily negative affect were the most reactive to daily stressors in terms of experiencing an increase in daily tiredness. We also found that people with low levels of chronic stress were the most reactive to daily stressors when they experienced low levels of daily negative affect. Our results highlight the need for individualized and contextualized approaches to combating daily tiredness in older adults.

Mito-Nuclear Interactions Affecting Lifespan and Neurodegeneration in a Drosophila Model of Leigh Syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Loewen, Carin A; Ganetzky, Barry

2018-04-01

Proper mitochondrial activity depends upon proteins encoded by genes in the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes that must interact functionally and physically in a precisely coordinated manner. Consequently, mito-nuclear allelic interactions are thought to be of crucial importance on an evolutionary scale, as well as for manifestation of essential biological phenotypes, including those directly relevant to human disease. Nonetheless, detailed molecular understanding of mito-nuclear interactions is still lacking, and definitive examples of such interactions in vivo are sparse. Here we describe the characterization of a mutation in Drosophila ND23 , a nuclear gene encoding a highly conserved subunit of mitochondrial complex 1. This characterization led to the discovery of a mito-nuclear interaction that affects the ND23 mutant phenotype. ND23 mutants exhibit reduced lifespan, neurodegeneration, abnormal mitochondrial morphology, and decreased ATP levels. These phenotypes are similar to those observed in patients with Leigh syndrome, which is caused by mutations in a number of nuclear genes that encode mitochondrial proteins, including the human ortholog of ND23 A key feature of Leigh syndrome, and other mitochondrial disorders, is unexpected and unexplained phenotypic variability. We discovered that the phenotypic severity of ND23 mutations varies depending on the maternally inherited mitochondrial background. Sequence analysis of the relevant mitochondrial genomes identified several variants that are likely candidates for the phenotypic interaction with mutant ND23 , including a variant affecting a mitochondrially encoded component of complex I. Thus, our work provides an in vivo demonstration of the phenotypic importance of mito-nuclear interactions in the context of mitochondrial disease. Copyright © 2018 by the Genetics Society of America.

Sorption interactions of organic compounds with soils affected by agricultural olive mill wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Keren, Yonatan; Borisover, Mikhail; Bukhanovsky, Nadezhda

2015-11-01

The organic compound-soil interactions may be strongly influenced by changes in soil organic matter (OM) which affects the environmental fate of multiple organic pollutants. The soil OM changes may be caused by land disposal of various OM-containing wastes. One unique type of OM-rich waste is olive mill-related wastewater (OMW) characterized by high levels of OM, the presence of fatty aliphatics and polyphenolic aromatics. The systematic data on effects of the land-applied OMW on organic compound-soil interactions is lacking. Therefore, aqueous sorption of simazine and diuron, two herbicides, was examined in batch experiments onto three soils, including untreated and OMW-affected samples. Typically, the organic compound-soil interactions increased following the prior land application of OMW. This increase is associated with the changes in sorption mechanisms and cannot be attributed solely to the increase in soil organic carbon content. A novel observation is that the OMW application changes the soil-sorbent matrix in such a way that the solute uptake may become cooperative or the existing ability of a soil sorbent to cooperatively sorb organic molecules from water may become characterized by a larger affinity. The remarkable finding of this study was that in some cases a cooperative uptake of organic molecules by soils makes itself evident in distinct sigmoidal sorption isotherms rarely observed in soil sorption of non-ionized organic compounds; the cooperative herbicide-soil interactions may be characterized by the Hill model coefficients. However, no single trend was found for the effect of applied OMW on the mechanisms of organic compound-soil interactions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Situational Motivation and Perceived Intensity: Their Interaction in Predicting Changes in Positive Affect from Physical Activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva Guérin

2012-01-01

Full Text Available There is evidence that affective experiences surrounding physical activity can contribute to the proper self-regulation of an active lifestyle. Motivation toward physical activity, as portrayed by self-determination theory, has been linked to positive affect, as has the intensity of physical activity, especially of a preferred nature. The purpose of this experimental study was to examine the interaction between situational motivation and intensity [i.e., ratings of perceived exertion (RPE] in predicting changes in positive affect following an acute bout of preferred physical activity, namely, running. Fourty-one female runners engaged in a 30-minute self-paced treadmill run in a laboratory context. Situational motivation for running, pre- and post-running positive affect, and RPE were assessed via validated self-report questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed a significant interaction effect between RPE and introjection (P<.05 but not between RPE and identified regulation or intrinsic motivation. At low levels of introjection, the influence of RPE on the change in positive affect was considerable, with higher RPE ratings being associated with greater increases in positive affect. The implications of the findings in light of SDT principles as well as the potential contingencies between the regulations and RPE in predicting positive affect among women are discussed.

Do core interpersonal and affective traits of PCL-R psychopathy interact with antisocial behavior and disinhibition to predict violence?

Science.gov (United States)

Kennealy, Patrick J; Skeem, Jennifer L; Walters, Glenn D; Camp, Jacqueline

2010-09-01

The utility of psychopathy measures in predicting violence is largely explained by their assessment of social deviance (e.g., antisocial behavior; disinhibition). A key question is whether social deviance interacts with the core interpersonal-affective traits of psychopathy to predict violence. Do core psychopathic traits multiply the (already high) risk of violence among disinhibited individuals with a dense history of misbehavior? This meta-analysis of 32 effect sizes (N = 10,555) tested whether an interaction between the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 2003) Interpersonal-Affective and Social Deviance scales predicted violence beyond the simple additive effects of each scale. Results indicate that Social Deviance is more uniquely predictive of violence (d = .40) than Interpersonal-Affective traits (d = .11), and these two scales do not interact (d = .00) to increase power in predicting violence. In fact, Social Deviance alone would predict better than the Interpersonal-Affective scale and any interaction in 81% and 96% of studies, respectively. These findings have fundamental practical implications for risk assessment and theoretical implications for some conceptualizations of psychopathy.

Foreword 3rd International Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction - ACII 2009

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cohn, Jeffrey; Cohn, Jeffrey; Nijholt, Antinus; Pantic, Maja

2009-01-01

It is a pleasure and an honor to have organized the Third International Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction (ACII). The conference will be held from 10th – 12th September 2009 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The conference series is the premier forum for presenting research

Bioactivity Studies of β-Lactam Derived Polycyclic Fused Pyrroli-Dine/Pyrrolizidine Derivatives in Dentistry: In Vitro, In Vivo and In Silico Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Winfred, Sofi Beaula; Mannivanan, Bhavani; Bhoopalan, Hemadev; Shankar, Venkatesh; Sekar, Sathiya; Venkatachalam, Deepa Parvathi; Pitani, Ravishankar; Nagendrababu, Venkateshbabu; Thaiman, Malini; Devivanayagam, Kandaswamy; Jayaraman, Jeyakanthan; Ragavachary, Raghunathan; Venkatraman, Ganesh

2015-01-01

The antibacterial activity of β-lactam derived polycyclic fused pyrrolidine/pyrrolizidine derivatives synthesized by 1, 3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction was evaluated against microbes involved in dental infection. Fifteen compounds were screened; among them compound 3 showed efficient antibacterial activity in an ex vivo dentinal tubule model and in vivo mice infectious model. In silico docking studies showed greater affinity to penicillin binding protein. Cell damage was observed under Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) which was further proved by Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM) and quantified using Flow Cytometry by PI up-take. Compound 3 treated E. faecalis showed ROS generation and loss of membrane integrity was quantified by flow cytometry. Compound 3 was also found to be active against resistant E. faecalis strains isolated from failed root canal treatment cases. Further, compound 3 was found to be hemocompatible, not cytotoxic to normal mammalian NIH 3T3 cells and non mutagenic. It was concluded that β-lactam compound 3 exhibited promising antibacterial activity against E. faecalis involved in root canal infections and the mechanism of action was deciphered. The results of this research can be further implicated in the development of potent antibacterial medicaments with applications in dentistry. PMID:26185985

Predicted Bacterial Interactions Affect in Vivo Microbial Colonization Dynamics in Nematostella

Science.gov (United States)

Domin, Hanna; Zurita-Gutiérrez, Yazmín H.; Scotti, Marco; Buttlar, Jann; Hentschel Humeida, Ute; Fraune, Sebastian

2018-01-01

The maintenance and resilience of host-associated microbiota during development is a fundamental process influencing the fitness of many organisms. Several host properties were identified as influencing factors on bacterial colonization, including the innate immune system, mucus composition, and diet. In contrast, the importance of bacteria–bacteria interactions on host colonization is less understood. Here, we use bacterial abundance data of the marine model organism Nematostella vectensis to reconstruct potential bacteria–bacteria interactions through co-occurrence networks. The analysis indicates that bacteria–bacteria interactions are dynamic during host colonization and change according to the host’s developmental stage. To assess the predictive power of inferred interactions, we tested bacterial isolates with predicted cooperative or competitive behavior for their ability to influence bacterial recolonization dynamics. Within 3 days of recolonization, all tested bacterial isolates affected bacterial community structure, while only competitive bacteria increased bacterial diversity. Only 1 week after recolonization, almost no differences in bacterial community structure could be observed between control and treatments. These results show that predicted competitive bacteria can influence community structure for a short period of time, verifying the in silico predictions. However, within 1 week, the effects of the bacterial isolates are neutralized, indicating a high degree of resilience of the bacterial community. PMID:29740401

Predicted Bacterial Interactions Affect in Vivo Microbial Colonization Dynamics in Nematostella

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanna Domin

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The maintenance and resilience of host-associated microbiota during development is a fundamental process influencing the fitness of many organisms. Several host properties were identified as influencing factors on bacterial colonization, including the innate immune system, mucus composition, and diet. In contrast, the importance of bacteria–bacteria interactions on host colonization is less understood. Here, we use bacterial abundance data of the marine model organism Nematostella vectensis to reconstruct potential bacteria–bacteria interactions through co-occurrence networks. The analysis indicates that bacteria–bacteria interactions are dynamic during host colonization and change according to the host’s developmental stage. To assess the predictive power of inferred interactions, we tested bacterial isolates with predicted cooperative or competitive behavior for their ability to influence bacterial recolonization dynamics. Within 3 days of recolonization, all tested bacterial isolates affected bacterial community structure, while only competitive bacteria increased bacterial diversity. Only 1 week after recolonization, almost no differences in bacterial community structure could be observed between control and treatments. These results show that predicted competitive bacteria can influence community structure for a short period of time, verifying the in silico predictions. However, within 1 week, the effects of the bacterial isolates are neutralized, indicating a high degree of resilience of the bacterial community.

The Role of Cognitive and Affective Empathy in Spouses' Support Interactions: An Observational Study

Science.gov (United States)

Verhofstadt, Lesley; Devoldre, Inge; Buysse, Ann; Stevens, Michael; Hinnekens, Céline; Ickes, William; Davis, Mark

2016-01-01

The present study examined how support providers’ empathic dispositions (dispositional perspective taking, empathic concern, and personal distress) as well as their situational empathic reactions (interaction-based perspective taking, empathic concern, and personal distress) relate to the provision of spousal support during observed support interactions. Forty-five committed couples provided questionnaire data and participated in two ten-minute social support interactions designed to assess behaviors when partners are offering and soliciting social support. A video-review task was used to assess situational forms of perspective taking (e.g., empathic accuracy), empathic concern and personal distress. Data were analyzed by means of the multi-level Actor-Partner Interdependence Model. Results revealed that providers scoring higher on affective empathy (i.e., dispositional empathic concern), provided lower levels of negative support. In addition, for male partners, scoring higher on cognitive empathy (i.e., situational perspective taking) was related to lower levels of negative support provision. For both partners, higher scores on cognitive empathy (i.e., situational perspective taking) correlated with more instrumental support provision. Male providers scoring higher on affective empathy (i.e., situational personal distress) provided higher levels of instrumental support. Dispositional perspective taking was related to higher scores on emotional support provision for male providers. The current study furthers our insight into the empathy-support link, by revealing differential effects (a) for men and women, (b) of both cognitive and affective empathy, and (c) of dispositional as well as situational empathy, on different types of support provision. PMID:26910769

Bottom-up and top-down human impacts interact to affect a protected coastal Chilean marsh.

Science.gov (United States)

Fariña, José M; He, Qiang; Silliman, Brian R; Bertness, Mark D

2016-03-01

Many ecosystems, even in protected areas, experience multiple anthropogenic impacts. While anthropogenic modification of bottom-up (e.g., eutrophication) and top-down (e.g., livestock grazing) forcing often co-occurs, whether these factors counteract or have additive or synergistic effects on ecosystems is poorly understood. In a Chilean bio-reserve, we examined the interactive impacts of eutrophication and illegal livestock grazing on plant growth with a 4-yr fertilization by cattle exclusion experiment. Cattle grazing generally decreased plant biomass, but had synergistic, additive, and antagonistic interactions with fertilization in the low, middle, and high marsh zones, respectively. In the low marsh, fertilization increased plant biomass by 112%, cattle grazing decreased it by 96%, and together they decreased plant biomass by 77%. In the middle marsh, fertilization increased plant biomass by 47%, cattle grazing decreased it by 37%, and together they did not affect plant biomass. In the high marsh, fertilization and cattle grazing decreased plant biomass by 81% and 92%, respectively, but together they increased plant biomass by 42%. These interactions were also found to be species specific. Different responses of plants to fertilization and cattle grazing were likely responsible for these variable interactions. Thus, common bottom-up and top-down human impacts can interact in different ways to affect communities even within a single ecosystem. Incorporating this knowledge into conservation actions will improve ecosystem management in a time when ecosystems are increasingly challenged by multiple interacting human impacts.

Interactive effects of trait and state affect on top-down control of attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Hur, Juyoen; Miller, Gregory A; McDavitt, Jenika R B; Spielberg, Jeffrey M; Crocker, Laura D; Infantolino, Zachary P; Towers, David N; Warren, Stacie L; Heller, Wendy

2015-08-01

Few studies have investigated how attentional control is affected by transient affective states while taking individual differences in affective traits into consideration. In this study, participants completed a color-word Stroop task immediately after undergoing a positive, neutral or negative affective context manipulation (ACM). Behavioral performance was unaffected by any ACM considered in isolation. For individuals high in trait negative affect (NA), performance was impaired by the negative but not the positive or neutral ACM. Neuroimaging results indicate that activity in primarily top-down control regions of the brain (inferior frontal gyrus and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex) was suppressed in the presence of emotional arousal (both negative and positive ACMs). This effect appears to have been exacerbated or offset by co-occurring activity in other top-down control regions (parietal) and emotion processing regions (orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala and nucleus accumbens) as a function of the valence of state affect (positive or negative) and trait affect (trait NA or trait PA). Neuroimaging results are consistent with behavioral findings. In combination, they indicate both additive and interactive influences of trait and state affect on top-down control of attention. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A rapid cleanup method for the isolation and concentration of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in comfrey root.

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Gray, Dean E; Porter, Andrew; O'Neill, Terry; Harris, Roger K; Rottinghaus, George E

2004-01-01

Preparations from comfrey (Symphytum officinale and S. x uplandicum) root and leaf contain varying levels of the hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). Reference compounds for comfrey are not commercially available, and there is currently no rapid extraction or analytical method capable of determining low levels in raw materials or as adulterants in commercially available extracts. A solid-phase extraction (SPE) method was developed using an Ergosil cleanup column that specifically binds the PAs. With this method, powdered comfrey root was extracted by sonication and shaking with basic chloroform. The extract was applied to the cleanup column under vacuum, washed with 2 mL acetone-chloroform (8 + 2, v/v) followed by 2 mL petroleum ether to remove excess chloroform. The column was dried under vacuum, and the PAs were eluted with 2 successive 1 mL aliquots methanol. Percent recoveries of the PAs following Ergosil SPE had an overall average of 96.8%, with RSD of 3.8% over a range of 1.0 to 25.0 g extracted in 100 mL. Average precision of the method (n = 3 over 4 extraction concentrations) gave an overall RSD of 6.0% for the 5 alkaloids, with a range of 0.8% (5 g in 100 mL) to 11.2% (25 g in 100 mL). Recovery optimization testing showed that 1.0 g comfrey root extracted in 100 mL yielded the greatest recovery (% dry weight) of the PAs, with an extraction efficiency and accuracy of 94.2%, and RSD of 1.7% (n = 9). The unique properties of the Ergosil cleanup column provide rapid sample cleanup, volume reduction, and concentration of PAs from comfrey extracts, and allow the eluant to be analyzed directly by traditional chromatographic methods.

Development of an Analytical Method for Analyzing Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Different Groups of Food by UPLC-MS/MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Stephen W C; Lam, Chi-Ho

2018-03-21

Suspected nontargeted pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), without analytical reference standard, were observed and interfered with the determination of targeted PAs in complex food matrices, especially for spices samples. Selectivity and applicability of multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions, multistage fragmentation (MS3), and MRM with differential ion mobility spectrometry (DMS) for eliminating false positive identifications were evaluated. Afterward, a selective and sensitive LC-MS/MS method for the determination of 15 PAs and 13 PA N-oxides in foodstuffs was developed. The sample preparation and cleanup are applicable to a wide range of foodstuffs, including cereal products, dairy products, meat, eggs, honey, tea infusion, and spices. Freezing-out of the raw extract and the water/acetonitrile washing steps in a solid phase extraction was found to efficiently remove complex matrices. The method was validated at 0.05 μg kg -1 for general food and 0.5 μg kg -1 for spices, with reference to the Eurachem Guide. The estimated limit of quantifications of different PAs was in the range of 0.010-0.087 μg kg -1 for general food and 0.04-0.76 μg kg -1 for spices. Isotopically labeled PAs were used as internal standards to correct the variation of PAs/PANs performance in different food commodities. Matrix effects observed in complex food matrices could be reduced by solvent dilution. Recoveries of PAs and PA N-oxides were all seen within 50-120%.

Motion and emotion: depression reduces psychomotor performance and alters affective movements in caregiving interactions

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Katherine S Young

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Impaired social functioning is a well-established feature of depression. Evidence to date suggests that disrupted processing of emotional cues may constitute part of this impairment. Beyond processing of emotional cues, fluent social interactions require that people physically move in synchronised, contingent ways. Disruptions to physical movements are a diagnostic feature of depression (psychomotor disturbance but have not previously been assessed in the context of social functioning. Here we investigated the impact of psychomotor disturbance in depression on physical responsive behaviour in both an experimental and observational setting.Methods: In Experiment 1, we examined motor disturbance in depression in response to salient emotional sounds, using a laboratory-based effortful motor task. In Experiment 2, we explored whether psychomotor disturbance was apparent in real-life social interactions. Using mother-infant interactions as a model affective social situation, we compared physical behaviours of mothers with and without postnatal depression (PND.Results: We found impairments in precise, controlled psychomotor performance in adults with depression relative to healthy adults (Experiment 1. Despite this disruption, all adults showed enhanced performance following exposure to highly salient emotional cues (infant cries. Examining real-life interactions, we found differences in physical movements, namely reduced affective touching, in mothers with PND responding to their infants, compared to healthy mothers (Experiment 2.Conclusions: Together, these findings suggest that psychomotor disturbance may be an important feature of depression that can impair social functioning. Future work investigating whether improvements in physical movement in depression could have a positive impact on social interactions would be of much interest.

Identification of a new reactive metabolite of pyrrolizidine alkaloid retrorsine: (3H-pyrrolizin-7-yl)methanol.

Science.gov (United States)

Fashe, Muluneh M; Juvonen, Risto O; Petsalo, Aleksanteri; Rahnasto-Rilla, Minna; Auriola, Seppo; Soininen, Pasi; Vepsäläinen, Jouko; Pasanen, Markku

2014-11-17

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) such as retrorsine are common food contaminants that are known to be bioactivated by cytochrome P450 enzymes to putative hepatotoxic, genotoxic, and carcinogenic metabolites known as dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids (DHPs). We compared how both electrochemical (EC) and human liver microsomal (HLM) oxidation of retrorsine could produce short-lived intermediate metabolites; we also characterized a toxicologically important metabolite, (3H-pyrrolizin-7-yl)methanol. The EC cell was coupled online or offline to a liquid chromatograph/mass spectrometer (LC/MS), whereas the HLM oxidation was performed in 100 mM potassium phosphate (pH 7.4) in the presence of NADPH at 37 °C. The EC cell oxidation of retrorsine produced 12 metabolites, including dehydroretrorsine (m/z 350, [M + H(+)]), which was degraded to a new reactive metabolite at m/z 136 ([M + H(+)]). The molecular structure of this small metabolite was determined using high-resolution mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy followed by chemical synthesis. In addition, we also identified another minor but reactive metabolite at m/z 136, an isomer of (3H-pyrrolizin-7-yl)methanol. Both (3H-pyrrolizin-7-yl)methanol and its minor isomer were also observed after HLM oxidation of retrorsine and other hepatotoxic PAs such as lasiocarpine and senkirkin. In the presence of reduced glutathione (GSH), each isomer formed identical GSH conjugates at m/z 441 and m/z 730 in the negative ESI-MS. Because (3H-pyrrolizine-7-yl)methanol) and its minor isomer subsequently reacted with GSH, it is concluded that (3H-pyrrolizin-7-yl)methanol may be a common toxic metabolite arising from PAs.

A Balanced Risk-Benefit Analysis to Determine Human Risks Associated with Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids (PA)-The Case of Tea and Herbal Infusions.

Science.gov (United States)

Habs, Michael; Binder, Karin; Krauss, Stefan; Müller, Karolina; Ernst, Brigitte; Valentini, Luzia; Koller, Michael

2017-07-07

Humans are exposed to pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) through different sources, mainly from contaminated foodstuff. Teas and herbal infusions (T&HI) can be contaminated by PA producing weed. PA can possess toxic, mutagenic, genotoxic, and carcinogenic properties. Thus, possible health risks for the general population are under debate. There is a strong safety record for T&HI and additionally epidemiological evidence for the preventive effects of regular tea consumption on cardiovascular events and certain types of cancer. There is no epidemiological evidence, however, for human risks of regular low dose PA exposure. Recommended regulatory PA-threshold values are based on experimental data only, accepting big uncertainties. If a general risk exists through PA contaminated T&HI, it must be small compared to other frequently accepted risks of daily living and the proven health effects of T&HI. Decision making should be based on a balanced riskbenefit analysis. Based on analyses of the scientific data currently available, it is concluded that the benefits of drinking T&HI clearly outweigh the negligible health risk of possible PA contamination. At the same time, manufacturers must continue their efforts to secure good product quality and to be transparent on their measures of quality control and risk communication.

A Balanced Risk–Benefit Analysis to Determine Human Risks Associated with Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids (PA—The Case of Tea and Herbal Infusions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Habs

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Humans are exposed to pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA through different sources, mainly from contaminated foodstuff. Teas and herbal infusions (T&HI can be contaminated by PA producing weed. PA can possess toxic, mutagenic, genotoxic, and carcinogenic properties. Thus, possible health risks for the general population are under debate. There is a strong safety record for T&HI and additionally epidemiological evidence for the preventive effects of regular tea consumption on cardiovascular events and certain types of cancer. There is no epidemiological evidence, however, for human risks of regular low dose PA exposure. Recommended regulatory PA-threshold values are based on experimental data only, accepting big uncertainties. If a general risk exists through PA contaminated T&HI, it must be small compared to other frequently accepted risks of daily living and the proven health effects of T&HI. Decision making should be based on a balanced riskbenefit analysis. Based on analyses of the scientific data currently available, it is concluded that the benefits of drinking T&HI clearly outweigh the negligible health risk of possible PA contamination. At the same time, manufacturers must continue their efforts to secure good product quality and to be transparent on their measures of quality control and risk communication.

Urban Interaction and Affective Experience

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fritsch, Jonas; Brynskov, Martin

2008-01-01

As interactive digital technologies become a still more integrated and complex part of the everyday physical, social and cultural spaces we inhabit, research into these spaces’ dynamics and struc-tures needs to formulate adequate methods of analysis and dis-course. In this position paper we argue...... approach holds potential to address important aspects of the design of such blended digital spaces, extending beyond traditional interaction design. And finally we argue for the importance of construction, i.e. actual interventions of consider-able scale....

Gamma irradiation on canola seeds affects herbivore-plant and host-parasitoid interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akandeh, M.; Kocheili, F.; Rasekh, A.; Soufbaf, M.

2017-01-01

As an agricultural modernization, gamma irradiation is an important method for enhancing crop yield and quality. Nevertheless, its use can alter other plant traits such as nutrition and resistance to different biotic/abiotic stresses that consequently affect plant-insect interactions. A tritrophic system was utilized based on two canola mutant lines produced through gamma irradiation (RGS 8-1 and Talaye 8-3). Plutella xylostella (L.), as a worldwide pest of Brassicaceae and Cotesia vestalis (Holiday) as a key biocontrol agent of P. xylostella were examined for the potential indirect effects of canola seed irradiation on the experimental insects' performance when acting on the respective mutant lines. This study showed that physical mutation did not affect plant nitrogen and herbivore-damaged total phenolics; however, phenolic compounds showed greater concentration in damaged leaves than undamaged leaves of both mutant and control plants. The relative growth rate and pupal weight of P. xylostella reared on RGS 8-1 were significantly higher than those reared on the control RGS. There was no significant difference by performance parameters of the parasitoid, C. vestalis, including total pre-oviposition period, adult longevity, adult fresh body weight of males and females, pupal weight, forewing area, and total longevity of both sexes on tested canola cultivars in comparison with their mutant lines. Life table parameters of C. vestalis on mutant lines of both cultivars, RGS and Talaye, were not significantly different from their control treatments. Comprehensive studies should be conducted to find out the mechanisms under which gamma rays affect plant-insect interactions. (author)

Gamma irradiation on canola seeds affects herbivore-plant and host-parasitoid interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akandeh, M.; Kocheili, F.; Rasekh, A. [Dept. of Entomology, Shahid Chamran Univ of Ahvaz (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Soufbaf, M., E-mail: msoufbaf@nrcam.org [Agricultural, Medical and Industrial Research School, Karaj (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2017-06-15

As an agricultural modernization, gamma irradiation is an important method for enhancing crop yield and quality. Nevertheless, its use can alter other plant traits such as nutrition and resistance to different biotic/abiotic stresses that consequently affect plant-insect interactions. A tritrophic system was utilized based on two canola mutant lines produced through gamma irradiation (RGS 8-1 and Talaye 8-3). Plutella xylostella (L.), as a worldwide pest of Brassicaceae and Cotesia vestalis (Holiday) as a key biocontrol agent of P. xylostella were examined for the potential indirect effects of canola seed irradiation on the experimental insects' performance when acting on the respective mutant lines. This study showed that physical mutation did not affect plant nitrogen and herbivore-damaged total phenolics; however, phenolic compounds showed greater concentration in damaged leaves than undamaged leaves of both mutant and control plants. The relative growth rate and pupal weight of P. xylostella reared on RGS 8-1 were significantly higher than those reared on the control RGS. There was no significant difference by performance parameters of the parasitoid, C. vestalis, including total pre-oviposition period, adult longevity, adult fresh body weight of males and females, pupal weight, forewing area, and total longevity of both sexes on tested canola cultivars in comparison with their mutant lines. Life table parameters of C. vestalis on mutant lines of both cultivars, RGS and Talaye, were not significantly different from their control treatments. Comprehensive studies should be conducted to find out the mechanisms under which gamma rays affect plant-insect interactions. (author)

Normal and mutant HTT interact to affect clinical severity and progression in Huntington disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aziz, N A; Jurgens, C K; Landwehrmeyer, G B

2009-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Huntington disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the HD gene (HTT). We aimed to assess whether interaction between CAG repeat sizes in the mutant and normal allele could affect disease severity and progression. METHODS: Using...... with less severe symptoms and pathology. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing CAG repeat size in normal HTT diminishes the association between mutant CAG repeat size and disease severity and progression in Huntington disease. The underlying mechanism may involve interaction of the polyglutamine domains of normal...

Network Regulation and Support Schemes - How Policy Interactions Affect the Integration of Distributed Generation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ropenus, Stephanie; Jacobsen, Henrik; Schröder, Sascha Thorsten

2011-01-01

This article seeks to investigate the interactions between the policy dimensions of support schemes and network regulation and how they affect distributed generation. Firstly, the incentives of distributed generators and distribution system operators are examined. Frequently there exists a trade......-off between the incentives for these two market agents to facilitate the integration of distributed generation. Secondly, the interaction of these policy dimensions is analyzed, including case studies based on five EU Member States. Aspects of operational nature and investments in grid and distributed...

Cell-Specific Expression of Homospermidine Synthase, the Entry Enzyme of the Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Pathway in Senecio vernalis, in Comparison with Its Ancestor, Deoxyhypusine Synthase1

Science.gov (United States)

Moll, Stefanie; Anke, Sven; Kahmann, Uwe; Hänsch, Robert; Hartmann, Thomas; Ober, Dietrich

2002-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are constitutive plant defense compounds with a sporadic taxonomic occurrence. The first committed step in PA biosynthesis is catalyzed by homospermidine synthase (HSS). Recent evidence confirmed that HSS evolved by gene duplication from deoxyhypusine synthase (DHS), an enzyme involved in the posttranslational activation of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A. To better understand the evolutionary relationship between these two enzymes, which are involved in completely different biological processes, we studied their tissue-specific expression. RNA-blot analysis, reverse transcriptase-PCR, and immunolocalization techniques demonstrated that DHS is constitutively expressed in shoots and roots of Senecio vernalis (Asteraceae), whereas HSS expression is root specific and restricted to distinct groups of endodermis and neighboring cortex cells located opposite to the phloem. All efforts to detect DHS by immunolocalization failed, but studies with promoter-β-glucuronidase fusions confirmed a general expression pattern, at least in young seedlings of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). The expression pattern for HSS differs completely from its ancestor DHS due to the adaptation of HSS to the specific requirements of PA biosynthesis. PMID:12226485

Maternal interaction style in affective disordered, physically ill, and normal women.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, E B; Jones, M; Hammen, C

1993-09-01

Affective style (AS) and communication deviance (CD) have been suggested as markers of dysfunctional family environments that may be associated with psychiatric illness. Studies have focused mainly on parental responses during family interactions when an offspring is the identified patient. The present study is unique in examining AS and CD in mothers with unipolar depression, bipolar disorder, or chronic physical illness, and in normal controls. The sample consisted of 64 mothers with children ages 8 to 16. Unipolar mothers were more likely to show negative AS than were any other maternal group. There were no group differences for CD. Chronic stress, few positive life events, and single parenting were associated with AS. CD was associated solely with lower socioeconomic status. Results suggest that dysfunctional interactions are determined not only by maternal psychopathology, but also by an array of contextual factors that are related to the quality of the family environment.

Content of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the leaves of coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara L. in Poland

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Artur Adamczak

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara L. is a common species, widely used in European and Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of respiratory diseases. However, raw material from this plant contains hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs. The aim of the study was to determine the variability of the level of PAs (senkirkine and senecionine in leaves of coltsfoot originated from natural populations in Poland. In the phytochemical analysis, 20 samples of T. farfara were used. This plant material was obtained from the Garden of Medicinal Plants in Plewiska near Poznań and originated from different regions of Poland. Coltsfoot leaves were harvested in the middle of July of 2010 and then dried at room temperature. The alkaloid content was detected using the HPLC-DAD method. The amount of PAs in leaves of T. farfara changed in a wide range from 0.06 to 1.04 μg g−1 of dry matter (DM. The content of senkirkine and senecionine was positively correlated (r = 0.68, P = 0.001. There was no statistically significant correlation between the amount of PAs as well as leaf weight and water content in leaves of T. farfara. Our results showed that a medium-sized leaf of coltsfoot (0.33 g DM may contain from 0.02 to 0.34 μg of PAs (on average 0.14 μg. The level of PAs was not associated with the region of Poland, but phytochemical similarity of samples was usually visible at the local scale. Coltsfoot leaves are characterized by a high variability of the content of toxic PAs, much higher than in the case of the main active compounds, especially flavonoids and mucilage. This phytochemical variability is mainly genetically determined (samples came from a garden collection, and it can be increased by environmental factors. Our investigations indicate that Polish natural populations of T. farfara may provide raw material with a low level of toxic PAs.

Structure-activity relationship in the passage of different pyrrolizidine alkaloids through the gastrointestinal barrier: ABCB1 excretes heliotrine and echimidine.

Science.gov (United States)

Hessel, Stefanie; Gottschalk, Christoph; Schumann, Dania; These, Anja; Preiss-Weigert, Angelika; Lampen, Alfonso

2014-05-01

1,2-Unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) are found in plants such as Asteraceae and Boraginaceae families. Acute PA poisoning via contaminated food or feed causes severe damage to liver depending on species-specific oral bioavailability. For assessing PA bioavailability, their passage across the intestinal barrier was investigated using Caco-2 cells. Differentiated Caco-2 cells were exposed in transport chambers to the PA heliotrine (Hn), echimidine (Em), senecionine (Sc), and senkirkine (Sk). Cell supernatants were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. PA pass Caco-2 monolayer from the apical into basolateral compartment depending on their chemical structure. Compared to the cyclic diesters Sc and Sk with a passage rate of 47% ± 4 and 40% ± 3, respectively, the transferred amount of the monoester Hn (32% ± 3) and open-chained diester Em (13% ± 2) was substantially lower. This suggested an active transport of Hn and Em. Using Madin-Darby canine kidney II/P-glycoprotein (ABCB1)-overexpressing cells, the active excretion of Hn and Em by ABCB1 from the gastrointestinal epithelium into the gut lumen was shown. PA cross the intestinal barrier structure-dependently. The passage of the noncyclic PA Hn and Em is reduced by an ABCB1-driven efflux into the gastrointestinal lumen resulting in a decreased oral bioavailability. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

User Experience of Mobile Interactivity: How Do Mobile Websites Affect Attitudes and Relational Outcomes?

Science.gov (United States)

Dou, Xue

2013-01-01

Mobile media offer new opportunities for fostering communications between individuals and companies. Corporate websites are being increasingly accessed via smart phones and companies are scrambling to offer a mobile-friendly user experience on their sites. However, very little is known about how interactivity in the mobile context affects user…

How does real affect affect affect recognition in speech?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Truong, Khiet Phuong

2009-01-01

The automatic analysis of affect is a relatively new and challenging multidisciplinary research area that has gained a lot of interest over the past few years. The research and development of affect recognition systems has opened many opportunities for improving the interaction between man and

Bioactivity Studies of β-Lactam Derived Polycyclic Fused Pyrroli-Dine/Pyrrolizidine Derivatives in Dentistry: In Vitro, In Vivo and In Silico Studies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gowri Meiyazhagan

Full Text Available The antibacterial activity of β-lactam derived polycyclic fused pyrrolidine/pyrrolizidine derivatives synthesized by 1, 3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction was evaluated against microbes involved in dental infection. Fifteen compounds were screened; among them compound 3 showed efficient antibacterial activity in an ex vivo dentinal tubule model and in vivo mice infectious model. In silico docking studies showed greater affinity to penicillin binding protein. Cell damage was observed under Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM which was further proved by Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM and quantified using Flow Cytometry by PI up-take. Compound 3 treated E. faecalis showed ROS generation and loss of membrane integrity was quantified by flow cytometry. Compound 3 was also found to be active against resistant E. faecalis strains isolated from failed root canal treatment cases. Further, compound 3 was found to be hemocompatible, not cytotoxic to normal mammalian NIH 3T3 cells and non mutagenic. It was concluded that β-lactam compound 3 exhibited promising antibacterial activity against E. faecalis involved in root canal infections and the mechanism of action was deciphered. The results of this research can be further implicated in the development of potent antibacterial medicaments with applications in dentistry.

A Balanced Risk–Benefit Analysis to Determine Human Risks Associated with Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids (PA)—The Case of Tea and Herbal Infusions

Science.gov (United States)

Habs, Michael; Binder, Karin; Krauss, Stefan; Müller, Karolina; Ernst, Brigitte; Valentini, Luzia; Koller, Michael

2017-01-01

Humans are exposed to pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) through different sources, mainly from contaminated foodstuff. Teas and herbal infusions (T&HI) can be contaminated by PA producing weed. PA can possess toxic, mutagenic, genotoxic, and carcinogenic properties. Thus, possible health risks for the general population are under debate. There is a strong safety record for T&HI and additionally epidemiological evidence for the preventive effects of regular tea consumption on cardiovascular events and certain types of cancer. There is no epidemiological evidence, however, for human risks of regular low dose PA exposure. Recommended regulatory PA-threshold values are based on experimental data only, accepting big uncertainties. If a general risk exists through PA contaminated T&HI, it must be small compared to other frequently accepted risks of daily living and the proven health effects of T&HI. Decision making should be based on a balanced riskbenefit analysis. Based on analyses of the scientific data currently available, it is concluded that the benefits of drinking T&HI clearly outweigh the negligible health risk of possible PA contamination. At the same time, manufacturers must continue their efforts to secure good product quality and to be transparent on their measures of quality control and risk communication. PMID:28686224

Occurrence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in animal- and plant-derived food: results of a survey across Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Mulder, Patrick P J; López, Patricia; Castelari, Massimo; Bodi, Dorina; Ronczka, Stefan; Preiss-Weigert, Angelika; These, Anja

2018-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are secondary metabolites of plant families such as Asteraceae or Boraginaceae and are suspected to be genotoxic carcinogens. Recent investigations revealed their frequent occurrence in honey and particularly in tea. To obtain a comprehensive overview of the PA content in animal- and plant-derived food from the European market, and to provide a basis for future risk analysis, a total of 1105 samples were collected in 2014 and 2015. These comprised milk and milk products, eggs, meat and meat products, (herbal) teas, and (herbal) food supplements collected in supermarkets, retail shops, and via the internet. PAs were detected in a large proportion of plant-derived foods: 91% of the (herbal) teas and 60% of the food supplements contained at least one individual PA. All types of (herbal) teas investigated were found to contain PAs, with a mean concentration of 460 µg kg -1 dry tea (corresponding to 6.13 µg L -1 in [herbal] tea infusion). The highest mean concentrations were found in rooibos tea (599 µg kg -1 dry tea, 7.99 µg L -1 tea infusion) and the lowest in camomile tea (274 µg kg -1 dry tea, 3.65 µg L -1 tea infusion). Occurrence of PAs in food supplements was found to be highly variable, but in comparable ranges as for (herbal) tea. The highest concentrations were present in supplements containing plant material from known PA-producing plants. In contrast, only 2% of the animal-derived products, in particular 6% of milk samples and 1% of egg samples, contained PAs. Determined levels in milk were relatively low, ranged between 0.05 and 0.17 µg L -1 and only trace amounts of 0.10-0.12 µg kg -1 were found in eggs. No PAs were detected in the other animal-derived products.

Assessment of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-induced toxicity in an in vitro screening model.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yan Hong; Kan, Winnie Lai Ting; Li, Na; Lin, Ge

2013-11-25

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are a group of heterocyclic phytotoxins present in a wide range of plants. The consumption of PA-containing medicinal herbs or PA-contaminated foodstuffs has long been reported to cause human hepatotoxicity. However, the degrees of hepatotoxicity of different PAs are unknown, which makes it difficult to determine a universal threshold of toxic dose of individual PAs for safe regulation of PA-containing natural products. The aim of the present study is to develop a simple and convenient in vitro model to assess the hepatotoxicity of different PAs. Six common cytotoxicity assays were used to evaluate the hepatotoxicity of different PAs in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells. The combination of MTT and bromodeoxyuridine incorporation (BrdU) assays demonstrated to be a suitable method to evaluate the toxic potencies of various PAs in HepG2 cells, and the results indicated that otonecine-type PA (clivorine: IC₂₀=0.013 ± 0.004 mM (MTT), 0.066 ± 0.031 mM (BrdU)) exhibited significantly higher cytotoxic and anti-proliferative effects than retronecine-type PA (retrorsine: IC₂₀=0.27 ± 0.07 mM (MTT), 0.19 ± 0.03 mM (BrdU)). While as expected, the known less toxic platyphylline-type PA (platyphylline: IC₂₀=0.85 ± 0.11 mM (MTT), 1.01 ± 0.40 mM (BrdU)) exhibited significantly less toxicity. The different cytotoxic and anti-proliferative potencies of various PAs in the same retronecine-type could also be discriminated by using the combined MTT and BrdU assays. In addition, the developed assays were further utilized to test alkaloid extract of Gynura segetum, a senecionine and seneciphylline-containing herb, the overall cytotoxicity of two PAs in the extract was comparable to that of these two PAs tested individually. Using the developed in vitro model, the cytotoxicity of different PAs and the extract of a PA-containing herb were investigated in parallel in one system, and their different hepatotoxic potencies were determined

Distinct cell-specific expression of homospermidine synthase involved in pyrrolizidine alkaloid biosynthesis in three species of the boraginales.

Science.gov (United States)

Niemüller, Daniel; Reimann, Andreas; Ober, Dietrich

2012-07-01

Homospermidine synthase (HSS) is the first specific enzyme in pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) biosynthesis, a pathway involved in the plant's chemical defense. HSS has been shown to be recruited repeatedly by duplication of a gene involved in primary metabolism. Within the lineage of the Boraginales, only one gene duplication event gave rise to HSS. Here, we demonstrate that the tissue-specific expression of HSS in three boraginaceous species, Heliotropium indicum, Symphytum officinale, and Cynoglossum officinale, is unique with respect to plant organ, tissue, and cell type. Within H. indicum, HSS is expressed exclusively in nonspecialized cells of the lower epidermis of young leaves and shoots. In S. officinale, HSS expression has been detected in the cells of the root endodermis and in leaves directly underneath developing inflorescences. In young roots of C. officinale, HSS is detected only in cells of the endodermis, but in a later developmental stage, additionally in the pericycle. The individual expression patterns are compared with those within the Senecioneae lineage (Asteraceae), where HSS expression is reproducibly found in specific cells of the endodermis and the adjacent cortex parenchyma of the roots. The individual expression patterns within the Boraginales species are discussed as being a requirement for the successful recruitment of HSS after gene duplication. The diversity of HSS expression within this lineage adds a further facet to the already diverse patterns of expression that have been observed for HSS in other PA-producing plant lineages, making this PA-specific enzyme one of the most diverse expressed proteins described in the literature.

Development and validation of a QuEChERS method coupled to liquid chromatography and high resolution mass spectrometry to determine pyrrolizidine and tropane alkaloids in honey.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinello, Marianna; Borin, Alice; Stella, Roberto; Bovo, Davide; Biancotto, Giancarlo; Gallina, Albino; Mutinelli, Franco

2017-11-01

Awareness about pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and tropane alkaloids (TAs) in food was recently raised by the European Food Safety Authority stressing the lack of data and gaps of knowledge required to improve the risk assessment strategy. The present study aimed at the elaboration and validation of a method to determine PAs and TAs in honey. QuEChERS sample treatment and liquid chromatography coupled to hybrid high resolution mass spectrometry, were used. The method resulted in good linearity (R 2 >0.99) and low limits of detection and quantification, ranging from 0.04 to 0.2µgkg -1 and from 0.1 to 0.7µgkg -1 respectively. Recoveries ranged from 92.3 to 114.8% with repeatability lying between 0.9 and 15.1% and reproducibility between 1.1 and 15.6%. These performances demonstrate the selectivity and sensitivity of the method for simultaneous trace detection and quantification of PAs and TAs in honey, verified through the analysis of forty commercial samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Affect-Responsive Interactive Photo Frame

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dibeklioğlu, H.; Kosunen, I.; Ortega Hortas, M.; Salah, A.A.; Zuzánek, P.; Salah, A.A.; Gevers, T.

2010-01-01

We develop an interactive photo-frame system in which a series of videos of a single person are automatically segmented and a response logic is derived to interact with the user in real-time. The system is composed of five modules. The first module analyzes the uploaded videos and prepares segments

Prefrontocortical dopamine loss in rats delays long-term extinction of contextual conditioned fear, and reduces social interaction without affecting short-term social interaction memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez Espejo, Emilio

2003-03-01

Prefrontal dopamine loss delays extinction of cued fear conditioning responses, but its role in contextual fear conditioning has not been explored. Medial prefrontal lesions also enhance social interaction in rats, but the role of prefrontal dopamine loss on social interaction memory is not known. Besides, a role for subcortical accumbal dopamine on mnesic changes after prefrontal dopamine manipulation has been proposed but not explored. The objective was to study the involvement of dopaminergic neurotransmission in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens in two mnesic tasks: contextual fear conditioning and social interaction memory. For contextual fear conditioning, short- and long-term freezing responses after an electric shock were studied, as well as extinction retention. Regarding social interaction memory, the recognition of a juvenile, a very sensitive short-term memory test, was used. Dopamine loss was carried out by injection of 6-hydroxydopamine, and postmortem catecholamine levels were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Prefrontocortical dopamine loss (>76%) led to a reactive enhancement of accumbal dopamine content (ploss. In lesioned rats, long-term extinction of contextual fear conditioning was significantly delayed and extinction retention was impaired without changes in acquisition and short-term contextual fear conditioning and, on the other hand, acquisition and short-term social interaction memory were not affected, although time spent on social interaction was significantly reduced. Added dopamine loss in the nucleus accumbens (>76%) did not alter these behavioral changes. In summary, the results of the present study indicate that the dopaminergic network in the mPFC (but not in the nucleus accumbens) coordinates the normal long-term extinction of contextual fear conditioning responses without affecting their acquisition, and it is involved in time spent on social interaction, but not acquisition and short

Situational Motivation and Perceived Intensity: Their Interaction in Predicting Changes in Positive Affect from Physical Activity

OpenAIRE

Eva Guérin; Michelle S. Fortier

2012-01-01

There is evidence that affective experiences surrounding physical activity can contribute to the proper self-regulation of an active lifestyle. Motivation toward physical activity, as portrayed by self-determination theory, has been linked to positive affect, as has the intensity of physical activity, especially of a preferred nature. The purpose of this experimental study was to examine the interaction between situational motivation and intensity [i.e., ratings of perceived exertion (RPE)] i...

Detection and Toxicity Evaluation of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Medicinal Plants Gynura bicolor and Gynura divaricata Collected from Different Chinese Locations.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jian; Lü, Han; Fang, Lian-Xiang; Li, Wei-Lin; Verschaeve, Luc; Wang, Zheng-Tao; De Kimpe, Norbert; Mangelinckx, Sven

2017-02-01

Two edible plants in Southeast Asia, Gynura bicolor and G. divaricata, are not only known to be nutritive but also useful as medicinal herbs. Previous phytochemical investigation of Gynura species showed the presence of hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), indicating the toxic risk of using these two plants. The present study was designed to analyze the distribution of PA components and tried to evaluate the preliminary toxicity of these two Gynura species. Eight samples of G. bicolor and G. divaricata from five different Chinese locations were collected and their specific PAs were qualitatively characterized by applying an UPLC/MS/MS spectrometry method. Using a pre-column derivatization HPLC method, the total retronecine ester-type PAs in their alkaloids extracts were quantitatively estimated as well. Finally, their genotoxicity was investigated with an effective high-throughput screening method referred to as Vitotox™ test and their potential cytotoxicity was tested on HepG2 cells. It was found that different types of PAs were widely present in Gynura species collected from south of China. Among them, no significant genotoxic effects were detected with serial concentrations through the present in vitro assay. However, the cytotoxicity assay of Gynura plants collected from Jiangsu displayed weak activity at the concentration of 100 mg/ml. It is important to note that this research validates in part the indication that the use of Gynura species requires caution. © 2017 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.

The role of negative maternal affective states and infant temperament in early interactions between infants with cleft lip and their mothers.

Science.gov (United States)

Montirosso, Rosario; Fedeli, Claudia; Murray, Lynne; Morandi, Francesco; Brusati, Roberto; Perego, Guenda Ghezzi; Borgatti, Renato

2012-03-01

The study examined the early interaction between mothers and their infants with cleft lip, assessing the role of maternal affective state and expressiveness and differences in infant temperament. Mother-infant interactions were assessed in 25 2-month-old infants with cleft lip and 25 age-matched healthy infants. Self-report and behavioral observations were used to assess maternal depressive symptoms and expressions. Mothers rated infant temperament. Infants with cleft lip were less engaged and their mothers showed more difficulty in interaction than control group dyads. Mothers of infants with cleft lip displayed more negative affectivity, but did not report more self-rated depressive symptoms than control group mothers. No group differences were found in infant temperament. In order to support the mother's experience and facilitate her ongoing parental role, findings highlight the importance of identifying maternal negative affectivity during early interactions, even when they seem have little awareness of their depressive symptoms.

Age Differences in Affective and Cardiovascular Responses to a Negative Social Interaction: The Role of Goals, Appraisals, and Emotion Regulation

Science.gov (United States)

Luong, Gloria; Charles, Susan T.

2014-01-01

Older adults often report less affective reactivity to interpersonal tensions than younger individuals, but few studies have directly investigated mechanisms explaining this effect. The current study examined whether older adults’ differential endorsement of goals, appraisals, and emotion regulation strategies (i.e., conflict avoidance/de-escalation, self-distraction) during a controlled negative social interaction may explain age differences in affective and cardiovascular responses to the conflict discussion. Participants (N=159; 80 younger adults, 79 older adults) discussed hypothetical dilemmas with disagreeable confederates. Throughout the laboratory session, participants’ subjective emotional experience, blood pressure, and pulse rate were assessed. Older adults generally exhibited less reactivity (negative affect reactivity, diastolic blood pressure reactivity, and pulse rate reactivity) to the task, and more pronounced positive and negative affect recovery following the task, than did younger adults. Older adults appraised the task as more enjoyable and the confederate as more likeable, and more strongly endorsed goals to perform well on the task, which mediated age differences in negative affect reactivity, pulse rate reactivity, and positive affect recovery (i.e., increases in post-task positive affect), respectively. In addition, younger adults showed increased negative affect reactivity with greater use of self-distraction, whereas older adults did not. Together, findings suggest that older adults respond less negatively to unpleasant social interactions than younger adults, and these responses are explained in part by older adults’ pursuit of different motivational goals, less threatening appraisals of the social interaction, and more effective use of self-distraction, compared to younger adults. PMID:24773101

Survey of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in seven varieties of Lappula squarrosa: An alternative source of heart-healthy vegetable oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Letsyo, Emmanuel; Jerz, Gerold; Winterhalter, Peter; Horn, Gert; Beuerle, Till

2016-01-01

Growing demand for heart-healthy omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is putting stress on wild fish stocks. There is now a compelling need for new and novel sources of non-traditional seed oils containing high stearidonic acid (SDA), a precursor of EPA and DHA, to reduce this demand. The seed oil of Lappula squarrosa is one of the richest sources of SDA, however, the plant has been found to contain toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). In this study, the PA concentrations of seven varieties (A-G) of Lappula squarrosa were analysed to determine the most suitable varieties for commercial seed oil production. Whilst the clean-up procedure for the PAs in the roots, flowers and leaves was on diatomaceous earth columns and finally analysed with GC-EI-MS, that of the seeds was through SCX-SPE and a more sensitive HPLC-ESI-MS/MS sum parameter method was used in the analysis. Altogether six PAs (supinine, amabiline, intermedine, lycopsamine and 3'-acetylintermedine) including one unknown retronecine-type PA were identified with variety C recording the lowest total PA concentration (4.64 mg seneciphylline equivalents (SE)/g dry weight (d.w.)). Besides, the total PA concentrations in the seeds of Lappula squarrosa varieties ranged between 2.88 μg PA/g and 10.36 μg PA/g d.w. Based solely on overall PA concentrations and PA distribution, variety D (5.95 mg SE/g d.w.) was found to be a potential candidate for commercial seed oil cultivation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Involvement of Bcl-xL degradation and mitochondrial-mediated apoptotic pathway in pyrrolizidine alkaloids-induced apoptosis in hepatocytes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ji Lili; Chen Ying; Liu Tianyu; Wang Zhengtao

2008-01-01

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are natural hepatotoxins with worldwide distribution in more than 6000 high plants including medicinal herbs or teas. The aim of this study is to investigate the signal pathway involved in PAs-induced hepatotoxicity. Our results showed that clivorine, isolated from Ligularia hodgsonii Hook, decreased cell viability and induced apoptosis in L-02 cells and mouse hepatocytes. Western-blot results showed that clivorine induced caspase-3/-9 activation, mitochondrial release of cytochrome c and decreased anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL in a time (8-48 h)- and concentration (1-100 μM)-dependent manner. Furthermore, inhibitors of pan-caspase, caspase-3 and caspase-9 significantly inhibited clivorine-induced apoptosis and rescued clivorine-decreased cell viability. Polyubiquitination of Bcl-xL was detected after incubation with 100 μM clivorine for 40 h in the presence of proteasome specific inhibitor MG132, indicating possible degradation of Bcl-xL protein. Furthermore, pretreatment with MG132 or calpain inhibitor I for 2 h significantly enhanced clivorine-decreased Bcl-xL level and cell viability. All the other tested PAs such as senecionine, isoline and monocrotaline decreased mouse hepatocytes viability in a concentration-dependent manner. Clivorine (10 μM) induced caspase-3 activation and decreased Bcl-xL was also confirmed in mouse hepatocytes. Meanwhile, another PA senecionine isolated from Senecio vulgaris L also induced apoptosis, caspase-3 activation and decreased Bcl-xL in mouse hepatocytes. In conclusion, our results suggest that PAs may share the same hepatotoxic signal pathway, which involves degradation of Bcl-xL protein and thus leading to the activation of mitochondrial-mediated apoptotic pathway

Absolute configuration, stability, and interconversion of 6,7-dihydro-7-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-5H-pyrrolizine valine adducts and their phenylthiohydantoin derivatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiao Jiang

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing plants are widespread in the world and probably the most common poisonous plants affecting livestock, wildlife, and humans. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids require metabolic activation to form dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids that bind to cellular proteins and DNA leading to hepatotoxicity, genotoxicity, and tumorigenicity. At present, it is not clear how dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids bind to cellular amino acids and proteins to induced toxicity. We previously reported that reaction of dehydromonocrotaline with valine generated four highly unstable 6,7-dihydro-7-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-5H-pyrrolizine (DHP-derived valine (DHP-valine adducts that upon reaction with phenyl isothiocyanate (PITC formed four DHP-valine-PITC adduct isomers. In this study, we report the absolute configuration and stability of DHP-valine and DHP-valine-PITC adducts, and the mechanism of interconversion between DHP-valine-PITC adducts.

Affiliation and control in marital interaction: interpersonal complementarity is present but is not associated with affect or relationship quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Cundiff, Jenny M; Smith, Timothy W; Butner, Jonathan; Critchfield, Kenneth L; Nealey-Moore, Jill

2015-01-01

The principle of complementarity in interpersonal theory states that an actor's behavior tends to "pull, elicit, invite, or evoke" responses from interaction partners who are similar in affiliation (i.e., warmth vs. hostility) and opposite in control (i.e., dominance vs. submissiveness). Furthermore, complementary interactions are proposed to evoke less negative affect and promote greater relationship satisfaction. These predictions were examined in two studies of married couples. Results suggest that complementarity in affiliation describes a robust general pattern of marital interaction, but complementarity in control varies across contexts. Consistent with behavioral models of marital interaction, greater levels of affiliation and lower control by partners-not complementarity in affiliation or control-were associated with less anger and anxiety and greater relationship quality. Partners' levels of affiliation and control combined in ways other than complementarity-mostly additively, but sometimes synergistically-to predict negative affect and relationship satisfaction. © 2014 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

A gut feeling: Microbiome-brain-immune interactions modulate social and affective behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Sylvia, Kristyn E; Demas, Gregory E

2018-03-01

The expression of a wide range of social and affective behaviors, including aggression and investigation, as well as anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors, involves interactions among many different physiological systems, including the neuroendocrine and immune systems. Recent work suggests that the gut microbiome may also play a critical role in modulating behavior and likely functions as an important integrator across physiological systems. Microbes within the gut may communicate with the brain via both neural and humoral pathways, providing numerous avenues of research in the area of the gut-brain axis. We are now just beginning to understand the intricate relationships among the brain, microbiome, and immune system and how they work in concert to influence behavior. The effects of different forms of experience (e.g., changes in diet, immune challenge, and psychological stress) on the brain, gut microbiome, and the immune system have often been studied independently. Though because these systems do not work in isolation, it is essential to shift our focus to the connections among them as we move forward in our investigations of the gut-brain axis, the shaping of behavioral phenotypes, and the possible clinical implications of these interactions. This review summarizes the recent progress the field has made in understanding the important role the gut microbiome plays in the modulation of social and affective behaviors, as well as some of the intricate mechanisms by which the microbiome may be communicating with the brain and immune system. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Clivorine, an otonecine pyrrolizidine alkaloid from Ligularia species, impairs neuronal differentiation via NGF-induced signaling pathway in cultured PC12 cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Aizhen; Yan, Artemis Lu; Bi, Cathy W C; Lam, Kelly Y C; Chan, Gallant K L; Lau, Kitty K M; Dong, Tina T X; Lin, Huangquan; Yang, Li; Wang, Zhengtao; Tsim, Karl W K

2016-08-15

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are commonly found in many plants including those used in medical therapeutics. The hepatotoxicities of PAs have been demonstrated both in vivo and in vitro; however, the neurotoxicities of PAs are rarely mentioned. In this study, we aimed to investigate in vitro neurotoxicities of clivorine, one of the PAs found in various Ligularia species, in cultured PC12 cells. PC12 cell line was employed to first elucidate the neurotoxicity and the underlying mechanism of clivorine, including cell viability and morphology change, neuronal differentiation marker and signaling pathway. PC12 cells were challenged with series concentrations of clivorine and/or nerve growth factor (NGF). The cell lysates were collected for MTT assay, trypan blue staining, immunocytofluorescent staining, qRT-PCR and western blotting. Clivorine inhibited cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation evidenced by MTT assay and dose-dependently reducing neurite outgrowth, respectively. In addition, clivorine decreased the level of mRNAs encoding for neuronal differentiation markers, e.g. neurofilaments and TrkA (NGF receptor). Furthermore, clivorine reduced the NGF-induced the phosphorylations of TrkA, protein kinase B and cAMP response element-binding protein in cultured PC12 cells. Taken together, our results suggest that clivorine might possess neurotoxicities in PC12 cells via down-regulating the NGF/TrkA/Akt signaling pathway. PAs not only damage the liver, but also possess neurotoxicities, which could possibly result in brain disorders, such as depression. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Influences of a Socially Interactive Robot on the Affective Behavior of Young Children with Disabilities. Social Robots Research Reports, Number 3

Science.gov (United States)

Dunst, Carl J.; Prior, Jeremy; Hamby, Deborah W.; Trivette, Carol M.

2013-01-01

Findings from two studies of 11 young children with autism, Down syndrome, or attention deficit disorders investigating the effects of Popchilla, a socially interactive robot, on the children's affective behavior are reported. The children were observed under two conditions, child-toy interactions and child-robot interactions, and ratings of child…

Affective and Behavioral Features of Jealousy Protest: Associations with Child Temperament, Maternal Interaction Style, and Attachment

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, Sybil L.; Behrens, Kazuko Y.

2013-01-01

This study explored variation in affective and behavioral components of infants' jealousy protests during an eliciting condition in which mother and an experimenter directed differential attention exclusively toward a rival. Variation was examined in relation to child temperamental emotionality, maternal interaction style, and attachment security.…

Bacillus subtilis affects miRNAs and flavanoids production in Agrobacterium-Tobacco interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Nazari, Fahimeh; Safaie, Naser; Soltani, Bahram Mohammad; Shams-Bakhsh, Masoud; Sharifi, Mohsen

2017-09-01

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a very destructive plant pathogen. Selection of effective biological agents against this pathogen depends on more insight into molecular plant defence responses during the biocontrol agent-pathogen interaction. Auxin as a phytohormone is a key contributor in pathogenesis and plant defence and accumulation of auxin transport carriers are accompanied by increasing in flavonoid and miRNAs concentrations during plant interactions with bacteria. The aim of this research was molecular analysis of Bacillus subtilis (ATCC21332) biocontrol effect against A. tumefaciens (IBRC-M10701) pathogen interacting with Nicotiana tabacum plants. Tobacco plants were either treated with both or one of the challenging bacteria and the expression of miRNAs inside the plants were analysed through qRT-PCR. The results indicated that the bacterial treatments affect expression level of nta-miRNAs. In tobacco plants treated only with A. tumefaciens the expression of nta-miR393 was more than that was recorded for nta-miR167 (3.8 folds, P subtilis (2.1 folds, P subtilis alone, was similar to the amount recorded for the plants challenged with the both bacteria. This study suggests a relationship between the upregulation of nta-miR167, nta-miR393 and accumulation of flavanoid compounds. Overall, the expression of these miRNAs as well as flavonoid derivatives has the potential of being used as biomarkers for the interaction of B. subtilis and A. tumefaciens model system in N. tabacum. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Promoting food security and well-being among poor and HIV/AIDS affected households: lessons from an interactive and integrated approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Swaans, Kees; Broerse, Jacqueline; Meincke, Maylin; Mudhara, Maxwell; Bunders, Joske

2009-02-01

Participatory and interdisciplinary approaches have been suggested to develop appropriate agricultural innovations as an alternative strategy to improve food security and well-being among HIV/AIDS affected households. However, sustainable implementation of such interactive approaches is far from easy and straight forward. This study reports of the Interactive Learning and Action (ILA) approach, a methodology for agricultural innovation which has been adapted to the context of HIV/AIDS. Role players in agriculture and health were brought together to stimulate and sustain innovation among three support groups for poor and affected households in a rural high HIV/AIDS prevalence area in South Africa. The effectiveness of the approach was evaluated using both outcome and process criteria. The results indicate that an interactive approach in which service providers/researchers engage themselves as actors to explore the livelihood system and develop appropriate solutions in joint collaboration with resource users has potential. However, it also revealed that cooperation among participants and stakeholders at the interface of agriculture and HIV/AIDS is complicated and sensitive to erosion. Of particular concern was the difficulty of mobilizing members from poor and affected households to participate and to overcome stigma and discrimination. Lessons and potential applications for the further development of interactive approaches are discussed.

Pesticide interactions with soil affected by olive mill wastewater (OMW): how strong and long-lasting is the OMW effect?

Science.gov (United States)

Keren, Yonatan; Borisover, Mikhail; Schaumann, Gabriele E.; Diehl, Dörte; Tamimi, Nisreen; Bukhanovsky, Nadezhda

2017-04-01

Sorption interactions with soils are well known to control the environmental fate of multiple organic compounds including pesticides. Pesticide-soil interactions may be affected by organic amendments or organic matter (OM)-containing wastewater brought to the field. Specifically, land spreading of olive mill wastewater (OMW), occurring intentionally or not, may also influence pesticide-soil interactions. The effects of the OMW disposed in the field on soil properties, including their ability to interact with pesticides, become of great interest due to the increasing demand for olive oil and a constant growth of world oil production. This paper summarizes some recent findings related to the effect of prior OMW land application on the ability of soils to interact with the organic compounds including pesticides, diuron and simazine. The major findings are as following: (1) bringing OMW to the field increases the potential of soils to sorb non-ionized pesticides; (2) this sorption increase may not be related solely to the increase in soil organic carbon content but it can reflect also the changes in the soil sorption mechanisms; (3) increased pesticide interactions with OMW-affected soils may become irreversible, due, assumedly, to the swelling of some components of the OMW-treated soil; (4) enhanced pesticide-soil interactions mitigate with the time passed after the OMW application, however, in the case of diuron, the remaining effect could be envisioned at least 600 days after the normal OMW application; (5) the enhancement effect of OMW application on soil sorption may increase with soil depth, in the 0-10 cm interval; (6) at higher pesticide (diuron) concentrations, larger extents of sorption enhancement, following the prior OMW-soil interactions, may be expected; (7) disposal of OMW in the field may be seasonal-dependent, and, in the case studied, it led to more distinct impacts on sorption when carried out in spring and winter, as compared with summer. It appears

Affective affordances: Improving interface characters engagement through interaction.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Vugt, H.C.; Hoorn, J.F.; Konijn, E.A.; De Bie Dimitriadou, A.

2006-01-01

The nature of humans interacting with interface characters (e.g. embodied agents) is not well understood. The I-PEFiC model provides an integrative perspective on human-character interaction, assuming that the processes of engagement and user interaction exchange information in explaining user

Affective affordances: Improving interface character engagement through interaction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Vugt, H.C.; Hoorn, J.F.; Konijn, E.A.; de Bie Dimitriadou, A.

2006-01-01

The nature of humans interacting with interface characters (e.g. embodied agents) is not well understood. The I-PEFiC model provides an integrative perspective on human-character interaction, assuming that the processes of engagement and user interaction exchange information in explaining user

Pyrrolizidine and tropane alkaloids in teas and the herbal teas peppermint, rooibos and chamomile in the Israeli market.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimshoni, Jakob Avi; Duebecke, Arne; Mulder, Patrick P J; Cuneah, Olga; Barel, Shimon

2015-01-01

Dehydro pyrrolizidine alkaloids (dehydro PAs) are carcinogenic phytotoxins prevalent in the Boraginaceae, Asteraceae and Fabaceae families. Dehydro PAs enter the food and feed chain by co-harvesting of crops intended for human and animal consumption as well as by carry-over into animal-based products such as milk, eggs and honey. Recently the occurrence of dehydro PAs in teas and herbal teas has gained increasing attention from the EU, due to the high levels of dehydro PAs found in commercially available teas and herbal teas in Germany and Switzerland. Furthermore, several tropane alkaloids (TAs, e.g. scopolamine and hyoscyamine) intoxications due to the consumption of contaminated herbal teas were reported in the literature. The aim of the present study was to determine the dehydro PAs and TAs levels in 70 pre-packed teabags of herbal and non-herbal tea types sold in supermarkets in Israel. Chamomile, peppermint and rooibos teas contained high dehydro PAs levels in almost all samples analysed. Lower amounts were detected in black and green teas, while no dehydro PAs were found in fennel and melissa herbal teas. Total dehydro PAs concentrations in chamomile, peppermint and rooibos teas ranged from 20 to 1729 μg/kg. Except for black tea containing only mono-ester retrorsine-type dehydro PAs, all other teas and herbal teas showed mixed patterns of dehydro PA ester types, indicating a contamination by various weed species during harvesting and/or production. The TA levels per teabag were below the recommended acute reference dose; however, the positive findings of TAs in all peppermint tea samples warrant a more extensive survey. The partially high levels of dehydro PAs found in teas and herbal teas present an urgent warning letter to the regulatory authorities to perform routine quality control analysis and implement maximum residual levels for dehydro PAs.

Genotype-environment interactions affecting preflowering physiological and morphological traits of Brassica rapa grown in two watering regimes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

El-Soda, M.; Boer, M.P.; Bagheri, H.; Hanhart, C.J.; Koornneef, M.; Aarts, M.G.M.

2014-01-01

Plant growth and productivity are greatly affected by drought, which is likely to become more threatening with the predicted global temperature increase. Understanding the genetic architecture of complex quantitative traits and their interaction with water availability may lead to improved crop

Daily interactions with aging parents and adult children: Associations with negative affect and diurnal cortisol.

Science.gov (United States)

Birditt, Kira S; Manalel, Jasmine A; Kim, Kyungmin; Zarit, Steven H; Fingerman, Karen L

2017-09-01

Midlife adults report greater investment in their children than in their parents, and these ties have important implications for well-being. To date, little research has addressed daily experiences in these ties. The present study examines daily experiences (negative and positive) with aging parents and adult children and their associations with daily negative affect and diurnal cortisol rhythms. Participants were middle-aged adults (N = 156; 56% women) from Wave 2 of the Family Exchanges Study, conducted in 2013, who completed a 7-day daily diary study, which included assessments of daily negative and positive social encounters and negative affect, and 4 days of saliva collection, which was collected 3 times a day (upon waking, 30 min after waking, and at bedtime) and assayed for cortisol. Multilevel models revealed that individuals were more likely to have contact with adult children than with parents but more likely to have negative experiences (negative interactions, avoidance, negative thoughts) with parents than with adult children. Nevertheless, contact and negative experiences with adult children were more consistently associated with negative affect and daily cortisol patterns than were interactions with parents. Findings are consistent with the intergenerational stake hypothesis, which suggests that individuals have a greater stake in their children than in their parents. Indeed, negative experiences with adult children may be more salient because tensions with adult children occur less frequently than do tensions with parents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Mathematics for Maths Anxious Tertiary Students: Integrating the cognitive and affective domains using interactive multimedia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janet Taylor

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Today, commencing university students come from a diversity of backgrounds and have a broad range of abilities and attitudes. It is well known that attitudes towards mathematics, especially mathematics anxiety, can affect students’ performance to the extent that mathematics is often seen as a barrier to success by many. This paper reports on the design, development and evaluation of an interactive multimedia resource designed to explicitly address students’ beliefs and attitudes towards mathematics by following five characters as they progress through the highs and low of studying a preparatory mathematics course. The resource was built within two theoretical frameworks, one related to effective numeracy teaching (Marr and Helme 1991 and the other related to effective educational technology development (Laurillard 2002. Further, it uses a number of multimedia alternatives (video, audio, animations, diarying, interactive examples and self assessment to encourage students to feel part of a group, to reflect on their feelings and beliefs about mathematics, to expose students to authentic problem solving and generally build confidence through practice and self-assessment. Evaluation of the resource indicated that it encouraged students to value their own mathematical ability and helped to build confidence, while developing mathematical problem solving skills. The evaluation clearly demonstrated that it is possible to address the affective domain through multimedia initiatives and that this can complement the current focus on computer mediated communication as the primary method of addressing affective goals within the online environment.

Fuzzy set implementation for controlling and evaluation of factors affecting melting, crystallinity and interaction in polymer blends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Rawajfeh, Aiman Eid; Mamlook, Rustom

2008-01-01

In this study, the factors (i.e. weight fractions, crystallization temperatures and interaction such as hydrogen bonding) affecting melting, crystallinity, interaction parameters and miscibility of polymer blends (PB) have been studied by implementation of a fuzzy set. The interaction parameters were calculated using the Nishi-Wang equation, which is based on the Flory-Huggins theory. The values of interaction parameters χ 12 were negative for all blend compositions suggesting that χ 12 depends on the volume fraction (Φ) of the polymer. The various characteristics for the case study was synthesized and converted into relative weights w.r.t fuzzy set method. The fuzzy set analysis for the case study reveal increase as confirmed by the experimental data. The application of the fuzzy set methodology offers reasonable prediction and assessment for detecting yield in polymer blends

Negative (but not Positive) Parenting Interacts with Infant Negative Affect to Predict Infant Approach: Evidence of Diathesis-Stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Holzman, Jacob B; Burt, Nicole M; Edwards, Erin S; Rosinski, Leanna D; Bridgett, David J

2018-01-01

Temperament by parenting interactions may reflect that individuals with greater risk are more likely to experience negative outcomes in adverse contexts (diathesis-stress) or that these individuals are more susceptible to contextual influences in a 'for better or for worse' pattern (differential susceptibility). Although such interactions have been identified for a variety of child outcomes, prior research has not examined approach characteristics - excitement and approach toward pleasurable activities - in the first year of life. Therefore, the current study investigated whether 6-month maternal reported infant negative affect - a phenotypic marker of risk/susceptibility - interacted with 8-month observed parenting behaviors (positive parenting, negative parenting) to predict 12-month infant behavioral approach. Based a sample of mothers and their infants ( N =150), results indicated that negative parenting was inversely associated with subsequent approach for infants with high, but not low, levels of early negative affect. Similar results did not occur regarding positive parenting. These findings better fit a diathesis-stress model rather than a differential susceptibility model. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

Do multiple fires interact to affect vegetation structure in temperate eucalypt forests?

Science.gov (United States)

Haslem, Angie; Leonard, Steve W J; Bruce, Matthew J; Christie, Fiona; Holland, Greg J; Kelly, Luke T; MacHunter, Josephine; Bennett, Andrew F; Clarke, Michael F; York, Alan

2016-12-01

Fire plays an important role in structuring vegetation in fire-prone regions worldwide. Progress has been made towards documenting the effects of individual fire events and fire regimes on vegetation structure; less is known of how different fire history attributes (e.g., time since fire, fire frequency) interact to affect vegetation. Using the temperate eucalypt foothill forests of southeastern Australia as a case study system, we examine two hypotheses about such interactions: (1) post-fire vegetation succession (e.g., time-since-fire effects) is influenced by other fire regime attributes and (2) the severity of the most recent fire overrides the effect of preceding fires on vegetation structure. Empirical data on vegetation structure were collected from 540 sites distributed across central and eastern Victoria, Australia. Linear mixed models were used to examine these hypotheses and determine the relative influence of fire and environmental attributes on vegetation structure. Fire history measures, particularly time since fire, affected several vegetation attributes including ground and canopy strata; others such as low and sub-canopy vegetation were more strongly influenced by environmental characteristics like rainfall. There was little support for the hypothesis that post-fire succession is influenced by fire history attributes other than time since fire; only canopy regeneration was influenced by another variable (fire type, representing severity). Our capacity to detect an overriding effect of the severity of the most recent fire was limited by a consistently weak effect of preceding fires on vegetation structure. Overall, results suggest the primary way that fire affects vegetation structure in foothill forests is via attributes of the most recent fire, both its severity and time since its occurrence; other attributes of fire regimes (e.g., fire interval, frequency) have less influence. The strong effect of environmental drivers, such as rainfall and

Some interactive factors affecting trench-cover integrity on low-level waste sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hakonson, T.E.; Lane, L.J.; Steger, J.G.; DePoorter, G.L.

1982-01-01

This paper describes important mechanisms by which radionuclide can be transported from low-level waste disposal sites into biological pathways, discuss interactions of abiotic and biotic processes, and recommends environmental characteristics that should be measured to design sites that minimize this transport. Past experience at shallow land burial sites for low-level radioactive wastes suggest that occurrences of waste exposure and radionuclide transport are often related to inadequate trench cover designs. Meeting performance standards at low-level waste sites can only be achieved by recognizing that physical, chemical, and biological processes operating on and in a trench cover profile are highly interactive. Failure to do so can lead to improper design criteria and subsequent remedial action procedures that can adversely affect site stability. Based upon field experiments and computer modeling, recommendations are made on site characteristics that require measurement in order to design systems that reduce surface runoff and erosion, manage soil moisture and biota in the cover profile to maximize evapotranspiration and minimize percolation, and place bounds on the intrusion potential of plants and animals into the waste material. Major unresolved problems include developing probabilistic approaches that include climatic variability, improved knowledge of soil-water-plant-erosion relationships, development of practical vegetation establishment and maintenance procedures, prediction and quantification of site potential and plant succession, and understanding the interaction of processes occurring on and in the cover profile with deeper subsurface processes

Soil fauna and organic amendment interactions affect soil carbon and crop performance in semi-arid West Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ouédraogo, E.; Brussaard, L.; Stroosnijder, L.

2007-01-01

A field experiment was conducted at Kaibo in southern Burkina Faso on an Eutric Cambisol during the 2000 rainy season to assess the interaction of organic amendment quality and soil fauna, affecting soil organic carbon and sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) performance. Plots were treated with the

The interactions among impact factors affecting 131I treatment efficacy of Graves' disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Peng; Tan Jian; Zhang Guizhi; He Yajing; Dong Feng; Wang Renfei; Xiao Qian

2011-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the possible interactions among different impact factors possibly affecting the treatment efficacy of 131 I in Graves' disease (GD). Methods: Six hundred and thirty two GD patients that had been treated by 131 I, with or without antithyroid drugs (ATD), were included in this study. The impact factors were pre-defined as age (x 1 ), sex (x 2 ), mass of thyroid (x 3 ), course of disease (x 4 ), initial symptom (x 5 ), condition of disease (x 6 ), ATD treatment duration (x 7 ), effective half life time (x 8 ), maximum 131 I uptake rate (x 9 ), total dose of 131 I (x 10 ), dose of 131 I per gram of thyroid (x 11 ), TRAb (x 12 ), TSI (x 13 ), TgAb (x 14 ), and thyroid microsomal antibody(TMAb) level (x 15 ). Interactions among different impact factors were studied by t-test, χ 2 test and multi-variant logistic regression. Results: Age, mass of thyroid, ATD treatment duration, maximum 131 I uptake rate, dose of 131 I per gram of thyroid tissue and TSI level were identified as independent impact factors affecting the 131 I treatment efficacy on GD (χ 2 =6.908, t=-4.063, χ 2 =13.558, t=-2.553, t=4.528, χ 2 =9.716, all P 131 I uptake rate (likelihood χ 2 =8.176, P>0.05; F=2.928, 1.992, 2.629, 2.215, all P 131 I treatment, which might guide the prescription of 131 I dosage for GD treatment. (authors)

Plasma membrane lipid–protein interactions affect signaling processes in sterol-biosynthesis mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana

Science.gov (United States)

Zauber, Henrik; Burgos, Asdrubal; Garapati, Prashanth; Schulze, Waltraud X.

2014-01-01

The plasma membrane is an important organelle providing structure, signaling and transport as major biological functions. Being composed of lipids and proteins with different physicochemical properties, the biological functions of membranes depend on specific protein–protein and protein–lipid interactions. Interactions of proteins with their specific sterol and lipid environment were shown to be important factors for protein recruitment into sub-compartmental structures of the plasma membrane. System-wide implications of altered endogenous sterol levels for membrane functions in living cells were not studied in higher plant cells. In particular, little is known how alterations in membrane sterol composition affect protein and lipid organization and interaction within membranes. Here, we conducted a comparative analysis of the plasma membrane protein and lipid composition in Arabidopsis sterol-biosynthesis mutants smt1 and ugt80A2;B1. smt1 shows general alterations in sterol composition while ugt80A2;B1 is significantly impaired in sterol glycosylation. By systematically analyzing different cellular fractions and combining proteomic with lipidomic data we were able to reveal contrasting alterations in lipid–protein interactions in both mutants, with resulting differential changes in plasma membrane signaling status. PMID:24672530

Curling up with a good e-book: Mother-child shared story reading on screen or paper affects embodied interaction and warmth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola Yuill

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study compared changes in cognitive, affective and postural aspects of interaction during shared mother and child book reading on screen and on paper. Readers commonly express strong preferences for reading on paper, but several studies have shown marginal, if any, effects of text medium on cognitive outcomes such as recall. Shared reading with a parent is an engaging, affective and embodied experience across time, as well as a cognitive task, so it is important to understand how paper vs. screen affects broader aspects of these shared experiences. Mid-childhood sees a steep rise in screen use alongside a shift from shared to independent reading. We assessed how the medium of paper or screen might alter children’s shared reading experiences at this transitional age. Twenty-four 7- to 9-year-old children and their mothers were videotaped sharing a story book for 8 minutes in each of 4 conditions: mother or child as reader, paper or tablet screen as medium. We rated videotapes for interaction warmth and child engagement by minute and analysed dyadic postural synchrony, mothers’ commentaries and quality of children’s recall, also interviewing participants about their experiences of reading and technology. We found no differences in recall quality but interaction warmth was lower for screen than for paper, and dropped over time, notably when children read on screen. Interactions also differed between mother-led and child-led reading. We propose that mother - child posture for paper reading supported more shared activity and argue that cultural affordances of screens, together with physical differences between devices, support different behaviours that affect shared engagement, with implications for the design and use of digital technology at home and at school. We advocate studying embodied and affective aspects of shared reading to understand the overall implications of screens in children’s transition to independent reading.

Curling Up With a Good E-Book: Mother-Child Shared Story Reading on Screen or Paper Affects Embodied Interaction and Warmth

Science.gov (United States)

Yuill, Nicola; Martin, Alex F.

2016-01-01

This study compared changes in cognitive, affective, and postural aspects of interaction during shared mother and child book reading on screen and on paper. Readers commonly express strong preferences for reading on paper, but several studies have shown marginal, if any, effects of text medium on cognitive outcomes such as recall. Shared reading with a parent is an engaging, affective and embodied experience across time, as well as a cognitive task, so it is important to understand how paper vs. screen affects broader aspects of these shared experiences. Mid-childhood sees a steep rise in screen use alongside a shift from shared to independent reading. We assessed how the medium of paper or screen might alter children’s shared reading experiences at this transitional age. Twenty-four 7- to 9-year-old children and their mothers were videotaped sharing a story book for 8 min in each of four conditions: mother or child as reader, paper, or tablet screen as medium. We rated videotapes for interaction warmth and child engagement by minute and analyzed dyadic postural synchrony, mothers’ commentaries and quality of children’s recall, also interviewing participants about their experiences of reading and technology. We found no differences in recall quality but interaction warmth was lower for screen than for paper, and dropped over time, notably when children read on screen. Interactions also differed between mother-led and child-led reading. We propose that mother - child posture for paper reading supported more shared activity and argue that cultural affordances of screens, together with physical differences between devices, support different behaviors that affect shared engagement, with implications for the design and use of digital technology at home and at school. We advocate studying embodied and affective aspects of shared reading to understand the overall implications of screens in children’s transition to independent reading. PMID:28018283

Curling Up With a Good E-Book: Mother-Child Shared Story Reading on Screen or Paper Affects Embodied Interaction and Warmth.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuill, Nicola; Martin, Alex F

2016-01-01

This study compared changes in cognitive, affective, and postural aspects of interaction during shared mother and child book reading on screen and on paper. Readers commonly express strong preferences for reading on paper, but several studies have shown marginal, if any, effects of text medium on cognitive outcomes such as recall. Shared reading with a parent is an engaging, affective and embodied experience across time, as well as a cognitive task, so it is important to understand how paper vs. screen affects broader aspects of these shared experiences. Mid-childhood sees a steep rise in screen use alongside a shift from shared to independent reading. We assessed how the medium of paper or screen might alter children's shared reading experiences at this transitional age. Twenty-four 7- to 9-year-old children and their mothers were videotaped sharing a story book for 8 min in each of four conditions: mother or child as reader, paper, or tablet screen as medium. We rated videotapes for interaction warmth and child engagement by minute and analyzed dyadic postural synchrony, mothers' commentaries and quality of children's recall, also interviewing participants about their experiences of reading and technology. We found no differences in recall quality but interaction warmth was lower for screen than for paper, and dropped over time, notably when children read on screen. Interactions also differed between mother-led and child-led reading. We propose that mother - child posture for paper reading supported more shared activity and argue that cultural affordances of screens, together with physical differences between devices, support different behaviors that affect shared engagement, with implications for the design and use of digital technology at home and at school. We advocate studying embodied and affective aspects of shared reading to understand the overall implications of screens in children's transition to independent reading.

Preparation of tritium labelled synthanecine A and its bis-N-ethylcarbamate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mattocks, A.R.

1982-01-01

A procedure is described for incorporating tritium into the 3-CH 2 side chain of synthanecine A, and preparing the carbamate, 2,3-bis-N-ethylcarbamoyloxymethyl-1-methyl-3-pyrroline, a hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid analogue. The pyrrolizidine amino alcohol, retronecine, can be tritium labelled in a similar way. (author)

Preparation of tritium labelled synthanecine A and its bis-N-ethylcarbamate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mattocks, A.R. (Medical Research Council, Carshalton (UK))

1982-04-01

A procedure is described for incorporating tritium into the 3-CH/sub 2/ side chain of synthanecine A, and preparing the carbamate, 2,3-bis-N-ethylcarbamoyloxymethyl-1-methyl-3-pyrroline, a hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid analogue. The pyrrolizidine amino alcohol, retronecine, can be tritium labelled in a similar way.

Ecological Interactions Affecting the Efficacy of Aphidius colemani in Greenhouse Crops.

Science.gov (United States)

Prado, Sara G; Jandricic, Sarah E; Frank, Steven D

2015-06-11

Aphidius colemani Viereck (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a solitary endoparasitoid used for biological control of many economically important pest aphids. Given its widespread use, a vast array of literature on this natural enemy exists. Though often highly effective for aphid suppression, the literature reveals that A. colemani efficacy within greenhouse production systems can be reduced by many stressors, both biotic (plants, aphid hosts, other natural enemies) and abiotic (climate and lighting). For example, effects from 3rd and 4th trophic levels (fungal-based control products, hyperparasitoids) can suddenly decimate A. colemani populations. But, the most chronic negative effects (reduced parasitoid foraging efficiency, fitness) seem to be from stressors at the first trophic level. Negative effects from the 1st trophic level are difficult to mediate since growers are usually constrained to particular plant varieties due to market demands. Major research gaps identified by our review include determining how plants, aphid hosts, and A. colemani interact to affect the net aphid population, and how production conditions such as temperature, humidity and lighting affect both the population growth rate of A. colemani and its target pest. Decades of research have made A. colemani an essential part of biological control programs in greenhouse crops. Future gains in A. colemani efficacy and aphid biological control will require an interdisciplinary, systems approach that considers plant production and climate effects at all trophic levels.

Ecological Interactions Affecting the Efficacy of Aphidius colemani in Greenhouse Crops

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara G. Prado

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Aphidius colemani Viereck (Hymenoptera: Braconidae is a solitary endoparasitoid used for biological control of many economically important pest aphids. Given its widespread use, a vast array of literature on this natural enemy exists. Though often highly effective for aphid suppression, the literature reveals that A. colemani efficacy within greenhouse production systems can be reduced by many stressors, both biotic (plants, aphid hosts, other natural enemies and abiotic (climate and lighting. For example, effects from 3rd and 4th trophic levels (fungal-based control products, hyperparasitoids can suddenly decimate A. colemani populations. But, the most chronic negative effects (reduced parasitoid foraging efficiency, fitness seem to be from stressors at the first trophic level. Negative effects from the 1st trophic level are difficult to mediate since growers are usually constrained to particular plant varieties due to market demands. Major research gaps identified by our review include determining how plants, aphid hosts, and A. colemani interact to affect the net aphid population, and how production conditions such as temperature, humidity and lighting affect both the population growth rate of A. colemani and its target pest. Decades of research have made A. colemani an essential part of biological control programs in greenhouse crops. Future gains in A. colemani efficacy and aphid biological control will require an interdisciplinary, systems approach that considers plant production and climate effects at all trophic levels.

How Urbanization Affects Employment and Social Interactions

OpenAIRE

Sato, Yasuhiro; Zenou, Yves

2014-01-01

We develop a model where the unemployed workers in the city can find a job either directly or through weak or strong ties. We show that, in denser areas, individuals choose to interact with more people and meet more random encounters (weak ties) than in sparsely populated areas. We also demonstrate that, for a low urbanization level, there is a unique steady-state equilibrium where workers do not interact with weak ties, while, for a high level of urbanization, there is a unique steady-state ...

How Urbanization Affect Employment and Social Interactions

OpenAIRE

Sato, Yasuhiro; Zenou, Yves

2014-01-01

We develop a model where the unemployed workers in the city can find a job either directly or through weak or strong ties. We show that, in denser areas, individuals choose to interact with more people and meet more random encounters (weak ties) than in sparsely populated areas. We also demonstrate that, for a low urbanization level, there is a unique steady-state equilibrium where workers do not interact with weak ties, while, for a high level of urbanization, there is a unique steady-state ...

Emotionally laden impulsivity interacts with affect in predicting addictive use of online sexual activity in men.

Science.gov (United States)

Wéry, Aline; Deleuze, Jory; Canale, Natale; Billieux, Joël

2018-01-01

The interest in studying addictive use of online sexual activities (OSA) has grown sharply over the last decade. Despite the burgeoning number of studies conceptualizing the excessive use of OSA as an addictive disorder, few have tested its relations to impulsivity, which is known to constitute a hallmark of addictive behaviors. To address this missing gap in the literature, we tested the relationships between addictive OSA use, impulsivity traits, and affect among a convenience sample of men (N=182; age, M=29.17, SD = 9.34), building upon a theoretically driven model that distinguishes the various facets of impulsivity. Results showed that negative urgency (an impulsivity trait reflecting the tendency to act rashly in negative emotional states) and negative affect interact in predicting addictive OSA use. These results highlight the pivotal role played by negative urgency and negative affect in addictive OSA use, supporting the relevance of psychological interventions that focus on improving emotional regulation (e.g., to reduce negative affect and learn healthier coping strategies) to mitigate excessive use of OSA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Negative Affect in Human Robot Interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rehm, Matthias; Krogsager, Anders

2013-01-01

The vision of social robotics sees robots moving more and more into unrestricted social environments, where robots interact closely with users in their everyday activities, maybe even establishing relationships with the user over time. In this paper we present a field trial with a robot in a semi...

Distinct Cell-Specific Expression of Homospermidine Synthase Involved in Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Biosynthesis in Three Species of the Boraginales1[C][W][OA

Science.gov (United States)

Niemüller, Daniel; Reimann, Andreas; Ober, Dietrich

2012-01-01

Homospermidine synthase (HSS) is the first specific enzyme in pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) biosynthesis, a pathway involved in the plant’s chemical defense. HSS has been shown to be recruited repeatedly by duplication of a gene involved in primary metabolism. Within the lineage of the Boraginales, only one gene duplication event gave rise to HSS. Here, we demonstrate that the tissue-specific expression of HSS in three boraginaceous species, Heliotropium indicum, Symphytum officinale, and Cynoglossum officinale, is unique with respect to plant organ, tissue, and cell type. Within H. indicum, HSS is expressed exclusively in nonspecialized cells of the lower epidermis of young leaves and shoots. In S. officinale, HSS expression has been detected in the cells of the root endodermis and in leaves directly underneath developing inflorescences. In young roots of C. officinale, HSS is detected only in cells of the endodermis, but in a later developmental stage, additionally in the pericycle. The individual expression patterns are compared with those within the Senecioneae lineage (Asteraceae), where HSS expression is reproducibly found in specific cells of the endodermis and the adjacent cortex parenchyma of the roots. The individual expression patterns within the Boraginales species are discussed as being a requirement for the successful recruitment of HSS after gene duplication. The diversity of HSS expression within this lineage adds a further facet to the already diverse patterns of expression that have been observed for HSS in other PA-producing plant lineages, making this PA-specific enzyme one of the most diverse expressed proteins described in the literature. PMID:22566491

A novel ultra-performance liquid chromatography hyphenated with quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry method for rapid estimation of total toxic retronecine-type of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in herbs without requiring corresponding standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Lin; Ruan, Jian-Qing; Li, Na; Fu, Peter P; Ye, Yang; Lin, Ge

2016-03-01

Nearly 50% of naturally-occurring pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are hepatotoxic, and the majority of hepatotoxic PAs are retronecine-type PAs (RET-PAs). However, quantitative measurement of PAs in herbs/foodstuffs is often difficult because most of reference PAs are unavailable. In this study, a rapid, selective, and sensitive UHPLC-QTOF-MS method was developed for the estimation of RET-PAs in herbs without requiring corresponding standards. This method is based on our previously established characteristic and diagnostic mass fragmentation patterns and the use of retrorsine for calibration. The use of a single RET-PA (i.e. retrorsine) for construction of calibration was based on high similarities with no significant differences demonstrated by the calibration curves constructed by peak areas of extract ion chromatograms of fragment ion at m/z 120.0813 or 138.0919 versus concentrations of five representative RET-PAs. The developed method was successfully applied to measure a total content of toxic RET-PAs of diversified structures in fifteen potential PA-containing herbs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flavin-dependent monooxygenases as a detoxification mechanism in insects: new insights from the arctiids (lepidoptera.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sven Sehlmeyer

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Insects experience a wide array of chemical pressures from plant allelochemicals and pesticides and have developed several effective counterstrategies to cope with such toxins. Among these, cytochrome P450 monooxygenases are crucial in plant-insect interactions. Flavin-dependent monooxygenases (FMOs seem not to play a central role in xenobiotic detoxification in insects, in contrast to mammals. However, the previously identified senecionine N-oxygenase of the arctiid moth Tyria jacobaeae (Lepidoptera indicates that FMOs have been recruited during the adaptation of this insect to plants that accumulate toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Identification of related FMO-like sequences of various arctiids and other Lepidoptera and their combination with expressed sequence tag (EST data and sequences emerging from the Bombyx mori genome project show that FMOs in Lepidoptera form a gene family with three members (FMO1 to FMO3. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that FMO3 is only distantly related to lepidopteran FMO1 and FMO2 that originated from a more recent gene duplication event. Within the FMO1 gene cluster, an additional gene duplication early in the arctiid lineage provided the basis for the evolution of the highly specific biochemical, physiological, and behavioral adaptations of these butterflies to pyrrolizidine-alkaloid-producing plants. The genes encoding pyrrolizidine-alkaloid-N-oxygenizing enzymes (PNOs are transcribed in the fat body and the head of the larvae. An N-terminal signal peptide mediates the transport of the soluble proteins into the hemolymph where PNOs efficiently convert pro-toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids into their non-toxic N-oxide derivatives. Heterologous expression of a PNO of the generalist arctiid Grammia geneura produced an N-oxygenizing enzyme that shows noticeably expanded substrate specificity compared with the related enzyme of the specialist Tyria jacobaeae. The data about the evolution of FMOs within lepidopteran insects

Designing for Interactional Empowerment

OpenAIRE

Ståhl, Anna

2014-01-01

This thesis further defines how to reach Interactional Empowerment through design for users. Interactional Empowerment is an interaction design program within the general area of affective interaction, focusing on the users’ abil­ity to reflect, express themselves and engage in profound meaning-making. This has been explored through design of three systems eMoto, Affective Di­ary and Affective Health, which all mirror users’ emotions or bodily reactions in interaction in some way. From these ...

Investigation of targeted pyrrolizidine alkaloids in traditional Chinese medicines and selected herbal teas sourced in Ireland using LC-ESI-MS/MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, Caroline T; Gosetto, Francesca; Danaher, Martin; Sabatini, Stefano; Furey, Ambrose

2014-01-01

Publications linking hepatotoxicity to the use of herbal preparations are escalating. Herbal teas, traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and dietary supplements have been shown to contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs). Acute PA toxicosis of the liver can result in sinusoidal-obstruction syndrome, also known as veno-occlusive disease (VOD). This paper describes a sensitive and robust method for the detection of targeted PAs and their N-oxides (PANOs) in herbal products (selected herbal teas and TCMs) sourced within Ireland. The sample preparation includes a simple acidic extraction with clean-up via solid-phase extraction (SPE). Sample extracts were accurately analysed by using LC-ESI-MS/MS applying for the first time a pentafluorophenyl (PFP) core-shell column to the chromatographic separation of PAs and PANOs. The method was validated for selectivity, taking into consideration matrix effects, specificity, linearity, precision and trueness. Limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantitation (LOQ) were quantified for all PAs and PANOs ranging from 0.4 to 1.9 µg kg⁻¹ and from 1.3 to 6.3 µg kg⁻¹, respectively. In this study 10 PAs and four PANOs were targeted because they are commercially available as reference standards. Therefore, this study can only report the levels of these PAs and PANOs analysed in the herbal teas and TCMs. The results reported represent the minimum levels of PAs and PANOs present in the samples analysed; commercially available herbal teas (n = 18) and TCMs (n = 54). A total of 50% herbal teas and 78% Chinese medicines tested positive for one or more PAs and/or PANOs included within this study, ranging from 10 to 1733 and from 13 to 3668 µg kg⁻¹, respectively.

Plant Water Stress Affects Interactions Between an Invasive and a Naturalized Aphid Species on Cereal Crops.

Science.gov (United States)

Foote, N E; Davis, T S; Crowder, D W; Bosque-Pérez, N A; Eigenbrode, S D

2017-06-01

In cereal cropping systems of the Pacific Northwestern United States (PNW), climate change is projected to increase the frequency of drought during summer months, which could increase water stress for crop plants. Yet, it remains uncertain how interactions between herbivore species are affected by drought stress. Here, interactions between two cereal aphids present in PNW cereal systems, Metopolophium festucae (Theobald) subsp. cerealium (a newly invasive species) and Rhopalosiphum padi L. (a naturalized species), were tested relative to wheat water stress. When aphids were confined in leaf cages on wheat, asymmetrical facilitation occurred; per capita fecundity of R. padi was increased by 46% when M. festucae cerealium was also present, compared to when only R. padi was present. Imposed water stress did not influence this interaction. When aphids were confined on whole wheat plants, asymmetrical competition occurred; cocolonization inhibited M. festucae cerealium population growth but did not affect R. padi population growth. Under conditions of plant water stress, however, the inhibitory effect of R. padi on M. festucae cerealium was not observed. We conclude that beneficial effects of cocolonization on R. padi are due to a localized plant response to M. festucae cerealium feeding, and that cocolonization of plants is likely to suppress M. festucae cerealium populations under ample water conditions, but not when plants are water stressed. This suggests that plant responses to water stress alter the outcome of competition between herbivore species, with implications for the structure of pest communities on wheat during periods of drought. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.

Enhancing User Experience through Emotional Interaction: Determining Users' Interests in Online Art Collections Using AMARA (Affective Museum of Art Resource Agent)

Science.gov (United States)

Park, S. Joon

2013-01-01

The need for emotional interaction has already influenced various disciplines and industries, and online museums represent a domain where providing emotional interactions could have a significant impact. Today, online museums lack the appropriate affective and hedonic values necessary to engage art enthusiasts on an emotional level. To address…

Interaction between Shadoo and PrP Affects the PrP-Folding Pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciric, Danica; Richard, Charles-Adrien; Moudjou, Mohammed; Chapuis, Jérôme; Sibille, Pierre; Daude, Nathalie; Westaway, David; Adrover, Miguel; Béringue, Vincent; Martin, Davy; Rezaei, Human

2015-06-01

Prion diseases are characterized by conformational changes of a cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) into a β-sheet-enriched and aggregated conformer (PrP(Sc)). Shadoo (Sho), a member of the prion protein family, is expressed in the central nervous system (CNS) and is highly conserved among vertebrates. On the basis of histoanatomical colocalization and sequence similarities, it is suspected that Sho and PrP may be functionally related. The downregulation of Sho expression during prion pathology and the direct interaction between Sho and PrP, as revealed by two-hybrid analysis, suggest a relationship between Sho and prion replication. Using biochemical and biophysical approaches, we demonstrate that Sho forms a 1:1 complex with full-length PrP with a dissociation constant in the micromolar range, and this interaction consequently modifies the PrP-folding pathway. Using a truncated PrP that mimics the C-terminal C1 fragment, an allosteric binding behavior with a Hill number of 4 was observed, suggesting that at least a tetramerization state occurs. A cell-based prion titration assay performed with different concentrations of Sho revealed an increase in the PrP(Sc) conversion rate in the presence of Sho. Collectively, our observations suggest that Sho can affect the prion replication process by (i) acting as a holdase and (ii) interfering with the dominant-negative inhibitor effect of the C1 fragment. Since the inception of the prion theory, the search for a cofactor involved in the conversion process has been an active field of research. Although the PrP interactome presents a broad landscape, candidates corresponding to specific criteria for cofactors are currently missing. Here, we describe for the first time that Sho can affect PrP structural dynamics and therefore increase the prion conversion rate. A biochemical characterization of Sho-PrP indicates that Sho acts as an ATP-independent holdase. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights

Investigation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids including their respective N-oxides in selected food products available in Hong Kong by liquid chromatography electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Stephen W C; Lam, Aaron C H

2017-07-01

This study determined the levels of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), including their respective N-oxides, in foodstuffs available in Hong Kong by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry. A total of 234 samples (48 food items) were collected randomly from a local market and analysed. About 50% of samples were found to contain detectable amount of PAs. Amongst the 48 food items, PAs were not detected in 11 food items, including barley flour, beef, cattle liver, pork, pig liver, chicken meat, chicken liver, milk, non-fermented tea, Melissa tea and linden tea. For those found to contain detectable PAs, the summed PA content ranged up to 11,000 µg kg -1 . The highest sum of PA content among the 37 food items calculated with lower bound was cumin seed, then followed by oregano, tarragon and herbs de Provence with ranges of 2.5-11,000, 1.5-5100, 8.0-3300 and 18-1300 µg kg -1 respectively. Among the samples, the highest sum of PA content was detected in a cumin seed sample (11,000 µg kg -1 ), followed by an oregano (5100 µg kg -1 ), a tarragon (3300 µg kg -1 ) and a herbs de Provence (1300 µg kg -1 ). In general, the results of this study agreed well with other published results in peer-reviewed journals, except that the total PAs in honey and specific tea infusion in this study were comparatively lower.

Exploring the relationships among humility, negative interaction in the church, and depressed affect.

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, Neal

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to test three hypotheses involving humility. The first hypothesis specifies that people who are more deeply involved in religion will be more humble than individuals who are not as involved in religion. The second hypothesis predicts that humility will offset the effects of negative interaction in the church on depressed affect scores. The third hypothesis specifies that there will be a positive relationship between age and humility. The data come from the Religion, Aging, and Health Survey, a nationwide survey of middle-aged and older Christians who attend church on a regular basis (N = 1154). The findings suggest that people who are more committed to their faith tend to be more humble. The results also reveal that negative interaction in the church is greater for people with lower humility scores than individuals with higher humility scores. In contrast, the data indicate that older adults are not more humble than middle-aged people. The findings are noteworthy because they identify a source of resilience that may help middle-aged and older adults cope more effectively with the effects of stress.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus interacts with obesity and common variations in PLTP to affect plasma phospholipid transfer protein activity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dullaart, R. P. F.; Vergeer, M.; de Vries, R.; Kappelle, P. J. W. H.; Dallinga-Thie, G. M.

2012-01-01

Dullaart RPF, Vergeer M, de Vries R, Kappelle PJWH, Dallinga-Thie GM (University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen; and Academic Medical Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam; The Netherlands). Type 2 diabetes mellitus interacts with obesity and common variations in PLTP to affect

Interactions of bluff-body obstacles with turbulent airflows affecting evaporative fluxes from porous surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Haghighi, Erfan; Or, Dani

2015-11-01

Bluff-body obstacles interacting with turbulent airflows are common in many natural and engineering applications (from desert pavement and shrubs over natural surfaces to cylindrical elements in compact heat exchangers). Even with obstacles of simple geometry, their interactions within turbulent airflows result in a complex and unsteady flow field that affects surface drag partitioning and transport of scalars from adjacent evaporating surfaces. Observations of spatio-temporal thermal patterns on evaporating porous surfaces adjacent to bluff-body obstacles depict well-defined and persistent zonation of evaporation rates that were used to construct a simple mechanistic model for surface-turbulence interactions. Results from evaporative drying of sand surfaces with isolated cylindrical elements (bluff bodies) subjected to constant turbulent airflows were in good agreement with model predictions for localized exchange rates. Experimental and theoretical results show persistent enhancement of evaporative fluxes from bluff-rough surfaces relative to smooth flat surfaces under similar conditions. The enhancement is attributed to formation of vortices that induce a thinner boundary layer over part of the interacting surface footprint. For a practical range of air velocities (0.5-4.0 m/s), low-aspect ratio cylindrical bluff elements placed on evaporating sand surfaces enhanced evaporative mass losses (relative to a flat surface) by up to 300% for high density of elements and high wind velocity, similar to observations reported in the literature. Concepts from drag partitioning were used to generalize the model and upscale predictions to evaporation from surfaces with multiple obstacles for potential applications to natural bluff-rough surfaces.

Advancing the Strategic Messages Affecting Robot Trust Effect: The Dynamic of User- and Robot-Generated Content on Human-Robot Trust and Interaction Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Yuhua Jake; Lee, Seungcheol Austin

2016-09-01

Human-robot interaction (HRI) will soon transform and shift the communication landscape such that people exchange messages with robots. However, successful HRI requires people to trust robots, and, in turn, the trust affects the interaction. Although prior research has examined the determinants of human-robot trust (HRT) during HRI, no research has examined the messages that people received before interacting with robots and their effect on HRT. We conceptualize these messages as SMART (Strategic Messages Affecting Robot Trust). Moreover, we posit that SMART can ultimately affect actual HRI outcomes (i.e., robot evaluations, robot credibility, participant mood) by affording the persuasive influences from user-generated content (UGC) on participatory Web sites. In Study 1, participants were assigned to one of two conditions (UGC/control) in an original experiment of HRT. Compared with the control (descriptive information only), results showed that UGC moderated the correlation between HRT and interaction outcomes in a positive direction (average Δr = +0.39) for robots as media and robots as tools. In Study 2, we explored the effect of robot-generated content but did not find similar moderation effects. These findings point to an important empirical potential to employ SMART in future robot deployment.

Glyphosate herbicide affects belowground interactions between earthworms and symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi in a model ecosystem

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Zaller, Johann G.; Heigl, Florian; Ruess, Liliane; Grabmaier, Andrea

2014-01-01

Herbicides containing glyphosate are widely used in agriculture and private gardens, however, surprisingly little is known on potential side effects on non-target soil organisms. In a greenhouse experiment with white clover we investigated, to what extent a globally-used glyphosate herbicide affects interactions between essential soil organisms such as earthworms and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). We found that herbicides significantly decreased root mycorrhization, soil AMF spore biomass, vesicles and propagules. Herbicide application and earthworms increased soil hyphal biomass and tended to reduce soil water infiltration after a simulated heavy rainfall. Herbicide application in interaction with AMF led to slightly heavier but less active earthworms. Leaching of glyphosate after a simulated rainfall was substantial and altered by earthworms and AMF. These sizeable changes provide impetus for more general attention to side-effects of glyphosate-based herbicides on key soil organisms and their associated ecosystem services. PMID:25005713

Cerebral Blood Flow and Amyloid-β Interact to Affect Memory Performance in Cognitively Normal Older Adults

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Katherine J. Bangen

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Cerebral blood flow (CBF alterations and amyloid-β (Aβ accumulation have been independently linked to cognitive deficits in older adults at risk for dementia. Less is known about how CBF and Aβ may interact to affect cognition in cognitively normal older adults. Therefore, we examined potential statistical interactions between CBF and Aβ status in regions typically affected in Alzheimer’s disease (AD within a sample of older adults from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI study. Sixty-two cognitively normal participants (mean age = 72 years underwent neuroimaging and memory testing. Arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging was used to quantify CBF and florbetapir PET amyloid imaging was used to measure Aβ deposition. Aβ status (i.e., positivity versus negativity was determined based on established cutoffs (Landau et al., 2013. The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test was used to assess memory. Linear regression models adjusted for age, education, and sex, demonstrated significant interactions between CBF and Aβ status on memory performance. Among Aβ positive older adults, there were significant negative associations between higher CBF in hippocampus, posterior cingulate, and precuneus and poorer memory performance. In contrast, among Aβ negative older adults, there were no significant associations between CBF and cognition. Our findings extend previous CBF studies of dementia risk by reporting interactions between Aβ status and CBF on memory performance in a sample of well-characterized, cognitively normal older adults. Results suggest that differential CBF-cognition associations can be identified in healthy, asymptomatic Aβ positive older adults relative to Aβ negative individuals. Associations between higherCBF and poorer memory among Aβ positive older adults may reflect a cellular and/or vascular compensatory response to pathologic processes whereby higher CBF is needed to maintain normal memory

The influence of prejudice and stereotypes on anticipated affect : feelings about a potentially negative interaction with another ethnic group

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gordijn, Ernestine; Finchilescu, Gillian; Brix, Louise; Wijnants, Nienke; Koomen, Willem

2008-01-01

In this research we investigated whether feelings about an imagined potentially negative interaction with a member of another ethnic group was affected more by valence than content of stereotypes, and whether the differential influence of perception and meta-perception was similar for dominant and

Experimental reduction in interaction intensity strongly affects biotic selection.

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Sletvold, Nina; Ågren, Jon

2016-11-01

The link between biotic interaction intensity and strength of selection is of fundamental interest for understanding biotically driven diversification and predicting the consequences of environmental change. The strength of selection resulting from biotic interactions is determined by the strength of the interaction and by the covariance between fitness and the trait under selection. When the relationship between trait and absolute fitness is constant, selection strength should be a direct function of mean population interaction intensity. To test this prediction, we excluded pollinators for intervals of different length to induce five levels of pollination intensity within a single plant population. Pollen limitation (PL) increased from 0 to 0.77 across treatments, accompanied by a fivefold increase in the opportunity for selection. Trait-fitness covariance declined with PL for number of flowers, but varied little for other traits. Pollinator-mediated selection on plant height, corolla size, and spur length increased by 91%, 34%, and 330%, respectively, in the most severely pollen-limited treatment compared to open-pollinated plants. The results indicate that realized biotic selection can be predicted from mean population interaction intensity when variation in trait-fitness covariance is limited, and that declines in pollination intensity will strongly increase selection on traits involved in the interaction. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Roostocks/scion/ nitrogen interactions affect secondary metabolism in the grape berry

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Aude Habran

2016-08-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT : The present work investigates the interactions between soil content, rootstock and scion by focusing on the effects of roostocks and nitrogen supply on grape berry content. Scions of Cabernet Sauvignon (CS and Pinot Noir (PN varieties were grafted either on Riparia Gloire de Montpellier (RGM or 110 Richter (110R rootstock. The 4 rooststock/scion combinations were fertilized with 3 different levels of nitrogen after fruit set. Both in 2013 and 2014, N supply increased N uptake by the plants, and N content both in vegetative and reproductory organs. Rootstock, variety and year affected berry weight at harvest, while nitrogen did not affect significantly this parameter. Grafting on RGM consistently increased berry weight compared to 110R. PN consistently produced bigger berries than CS. CS berries were heavier in 2014 than in 2013, but the year effect was less marked for PN berries. The berries were collected between veraison and maturity, separated in skin and pulp, and their content was analyzed by conventional analytical procedures and untargeted metabolomics. For anthocyanins, the relative quantitation was fairly comparable with both LC-MS determination and HPLC-DAD, which is a fully quantitative technique. The data show complex responses of the metabolite content (sugars, organic acids, amino acids, anthocyanins, flavonols, flavan-3-ols/procyanidins, stilbenes, hydroxycinnamic and hydroxybenzoic acids. that depend on the rootstock, the scion, the vintage, the nitrogen level, the berry compartment. This opens a wide range of possibilities to adjust the content of these compounds through the choice of the roostock, variety and nitrogen fertilization.

Roostocks/Scion/Nitrogen Interactions Affect Secondary Metabolism in the Grape Berry.

Science.gov (United States)

Habran, Aude; Commisso, Mauro; Helwi, Pierre; Hilbert, Ghislaine; Negri, Stefano; Ollat, Nathalie; Gomès, Eric; van Leeuwen, Cornelis; Guzzo, Flavia; Delrot, Serge

2016-01-01

The present work investigates the interactions between soil content, rootstock, and scion by focusing on the effects of roostocks and nitrogen supply on grape berry content. Scions of Cabernet Sauvignon (CS) and Pinot Noir (PN) varieties were grafted either on Riparia Gloire de Montpellier (RGM) or 110 Richter (110R) rootstock. The 4 rooststock/scion combinations were fertilized with 3 different levels of nitrogen after fruit set. Both in 2013 and 2014, N supply increased N uptake by the plants, and N content both in vegetative and reproductory organs. Rootstock, variety and year affected berry weight at harvest, while nitrogen did not affect significantly this parameter. Grafting on RGM consistently increased berry weight compared to 110R. PN consistently produced bigger berries than CS. CS berries were heavier in 2014 than in 2013, but the year effect was less marked for PN berries. The berries were collected between veraison and maturity, separated in skin and pulp, and their content was analyzed by conventional analytical procedures and untargeted metabolomics. For anthocyanins, the relative quantitation was fairly comparable with both LC-MS determination and HPLC-DAD, which is a fully quantitative technique. The data show complex responses of the metabolite content (sugars, organic acids, amino acids, anthocyanins, flavonols, flavan-3-ols/procyanidins, stilbenes, hydroxycinnamic, and hydroxybenzoic acids) that depend on the rootstock, the scion, the vintage, the nitrogen level, the berry compartment. This opens a wide range of possibilities to adjust the content of these compounds through the choice of the roostock, variety and nitrogen fertilization.

Interactive effects of 5-HTTLPR genotype and rearing environment on affective attitude towards own infant in Japanese mothers.

Science.gov (United States)

Sawano, Erika; Doi, Hirokazu; Nagai, Tomoko; Ikeda, Satoko; Shinohara, Kauyuki

2017-05-15

Maternal positive attitude towards one's own infant is the cornerstone of effective parenting. Previous research has revealed an influence of both genetic and environmental factors on maternal parenting behavior, but little is known of the potential gene-environment interaction in shaping a mother's affective attitude. To address this gap, we investigated the effect of a mother's childhood rearing environment and a serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) on affective attitude towards her infant. Our analyses found an interactive effect between rearing environment and 5-HTTLPR genotype on maternal attitude. Specifically, a poor rearing environment (characterized by low maternal care and high paternal overprotection) decreased positive attitude towards one's own infant in mothers with homozygous short allele genotype. In contrast, this detrimental effect was almost eliminated in long allele carriers. Altogether, our results indicate that the 5-HTTLPR gene moderates the influence of experienced rearing environment on maternal parental behavior in a manner consistent with the notion that the short 5-HTTLPR allele amplifies environmental influence. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Promoting food security and well-being among poor and HIV/AIDS affected households: Lessons from an interactive and integrated approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Swaans, K.; Broerse, J.E.W.; Meincke, M.; Mudhara, M.; Bunders, J.

2009-01-01

Participatory and interdisciplinary approaches have been suggested to develop appropriate agricultural innovations as an alternative strategy to improve food security and well-being among HIV/AIDS affected households. However, sustainable implementation of such interactive approaches is far from

The Multigenerational Workforce within Two-Year Public Community Colleges: A Study of Generational Factors Affecting Employee Learning and Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Starks, Florida Elizabeth

2014-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative study is to broaden multigenerational workforce research involving factors affecting employee learning and interaction by using a population of Baby Boomer, Generation X, and Millennial faculty and staff age cohorts employed at two-year public community college organizations. Researchers have studied…

Reciprocity in computer-human interaction: source-based, norm-based, and affect-based explanations.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Seungcheol Austin; Liang, Yuhua Jake

2015-04-01

Individuals often apply social rules when they interact with computers, and this is known as the Computers Are Social Actors (CASA) effect. Following previous work, one approach to understand the mechanism responsible for CASA is to utilize computer agents and have the agents attempt to gain human compliance (e.g., completing a pattern recognition task). The current study focuses on three key factors frequently cited to influence traditional notions of compliance: evaluations toward the source (competence and warmth), normative influence (reciprocity), and affective influence (mood). Structural equation modeling assessed the effects of these factors on human compliance with computer request. The final model shows that norm-based influence (reciprocity) increased the likelihood of compliance, while evaluations toward the computer agent did not significantly influence compliance.

Feeding on Host Plants with Different Concentrations and Structures of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids Impacts the Chemical-Defense Effectiveness of a Specialist Herbivore.

Science.gov (United States)

Martins, Carlos H Z; Cunha, Beatriz P; Solferini, Vera N; Trigo, José R

2015-01-01

Sequestration of chemical defenses from host plants is a strategy widely used by herbivorous insects to avoid predation. Larvae of the arctiine moth Utetheisa ornatrix feeding on unripe seeds and leaves of many species of Crotalaria (Leguminosae) sequester N-oxides of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) from these host plants, and transfer them to adults through the pupal stage. PAs confer protection against predation on all life stages of U. ornatrix. As U. ornatrix also uses other Crotalaria species as host plants, we evaluated whether the PA chemical defense against predation is independent of host plant use. We fed larvae from hatching to pupation with either leaves or seeds of one of eight Crotalaria species (C. incana, C. juncea, C. micans, C. ochroleuca, C. pallida, C. paulina, C. spectabilis, and C. vitellina), and tested if adults were preyed upon or released by the orb-weaving spider Nephila clavipes. We found that the protection against the spider was more effective in adults whose larvae fed on seeds, which had a higher PA concentration than leaves. The exceptions were adults from larvae fed on C. paulina, C. spectabilis and C. vitellina leaves, which showed high PA concentrations. With respect to the PA profile, we describe for the first time insect-PAs in U. ornatrix. These PAs, biosynthesized from the necine base retronecine of plant origin, or monocrotaline- and senecionine-type PAs sequestered from host plants, were equally active in moth chemical defense, in a dose-dependent manner. These results are also partially explained by host plant phylogeny, since PAs of the host plants do have a phylogenetic signal (clades with high and low PA concentrations in leaves) which is reflected in the adult defense.

Feeding on Host Plants with Different Concentrations and Structures of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids Impacts the Chemical-Defense Effectiveness of a Specialist Herbivore.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos H Z Martins

Full Text Available Sequestration of chemical defenses from host plants is a strategy widely used by herbivorous insects to avoid predation. Larvae of the arctiine moth Utetheisa ornatrix feeding on unripe seeds and leaves of many species of Crotalaria (Leguminosae sequester N-oxides of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs from these host plants, and transfer them to adults through the pupal stage. PAs confer protection against predation on all life stages of U. ornatrix. As U. ornatrix also uses other Crotalaria species as host plants, we evaluated whether the PA chemical defense against predation is independent of host plant use. We fed larvae from hatching to pupation with either leaves or seeds of one of eight Crotalaria species (C. incana, C. juncea, C. micans, C. ochroleuca, C. pallida, C. paulina, C. spectabilis, and C. vitellina, and tested if adults were preyed upon or released by the orb-weaving spider Nephila clavipes. We found that the protection against the spider was more effective in adults whose larvae fed on seeds, which had a higher PA concentration than leaves. The exceptions were adults from larvae fed on C. paulina, C. spectabilis and C. vitellina leaves, which showed high PA concentrations. With respect to the PA profile, we describe for the first time insect-PAs in U. ornatrix. These PAs, biosynthesized from the necine base retronecine of plant origin, or monocrotaline- and senecionine-type PAs sequestered from host plants, were equally active in moth chemical defense, in a dose-dependent manner. These results are also partially explained by host plant phylogeny, since PAs of the host plants do have a phylogenetic signal (clades with high and low PA concentrations in leaves which is reflected in the adult defense.

ALS mutant SOD1 interacts with G3BP1 and affects stress granule dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Gal, Jozsef; Kuang, Lisha; Barnett, Kelly R; Zhu, Brian Z; Shissler, Susannah C; Korotkov, Konstantin V; Hayward, Lawrence J; Kasarskis, Edward J; Zhu, Haining

2016-10-01

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease. Mutations in Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) are responsible for approximately 20 % of the familial ALS cases. ALS-causing SOD1 mutants display a gain-of-toxicity phenotype, but the nature of this toxicity is still not fully understood. The Ras GTPase-activating protein-binding protein G3BP1 plays a critical role in stress granule dynamics. Alterations in the dynamics of stress granules have been reported in several other forms of ALS unrelated to SOD1. To our surprise, the mutant G93A SOD1 transgenic mice exhibited pathological cytoplasmic inclusions that co-localized with G3BP1-positive granules in spinal cord motor neurons. The co-localization was also observed in fibroblast cells derived from familial ALS patient carrying SOD1 mutation L144F. Mutant SOD1, unlike wild-type SOD1, interacted with G3BP1 in an RNA-independent manner. Moreover, the interaction is specific for G3BP1 since mutant SOD1 showed little interaction with four other RNA-binding proteins implicated in ALS. The RNA-binding RRM domain of G3BP1 and two particular phenylalanine residues (F380 and F382) are critical for this interaction. Mutant SOD1 delayed the formation of G3BP1- and TIA1-positive stress granules in response to hyperosmolar shock and arsenite treatment in N2A cells. In summary, the aberrant mutant SOD1-G3BP1 interaction affects stress granule dynamics, suggesting a potential link between pathogenic SOD1 mutations and RNA metabolism alterations in ALS.

Do Core Interpersonal and Affective Traits of PCL-R Psychopathy Interact with Antisocial Behavior and Disinhibition to Predict Violence?

Science.gov (United States)

Kennealy, Patrick J.; Skeem, Jennifer L.; Walters, Glenn D.; Camp, Jacqueline

2010-01-01

The utility of psychopathy measures in predicting violence is largely explained by their assessment of social deviance (e.g., antisocial behavior; disinhibition). A key question is whether social deviance "interacts" with the core interpersonal-affective traits of psychopathy to predict violence. Do core psychopathic traits multiply the (already…

When is affect variability bad for health? The association between affect variability and immune response to the influenza vaccination.

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, Brooke N; Hunter, John F; Cross, Marie P; Acevedo, Amanda M; Pressman, Sarah D

2018-01-01

This study addresses methodological and theoretical questions about the association between affect and physical health. Specifically, we examine the role of affect variability and its interaction with mean levels of affect to predict antibody (Ab) levels in response to an influenza vaccination. Participants (N=83) received the vaccination and completed daily diary measures of affect four times a day for 13days. At one and four months post-vaccination, blood was collected from the participants to assess Ab levels. Findings indicate that affect variability and its interaction with mean levels of affect predict an individual's immune response. Those high in mean positive affect (PA) who had more PA variability were more likely to have a lower Ab response in comparison to those who had high mean PA and less PA variability. Although it did not interact with mean negative affect (NA), NA variability on its own was associated with Ab response, whereby those with less NA variability mounted a more robust immune response. Affect variability is related to immune response to an influenza vaccination and, in some cases, interacts with mean levels of affect. These oscillations in affective experiences are critical to consider in order to unpack the intricacies of how affect influences health. These findings suggest that future researchers should consider the important role of affect variability on physical health-relevant outcomes as well as examine the moderating effect of mean affect levels. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Human I-mfa domain proteins specifically interact with KSHV LANA and affect its regulation of Wnt signaling-dependent transcription

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Kusano, Shuichi, E-mail: skusano@m2.kufm.kagoshima-u.ac.jp [Division of Persistent and Oncogenic Viruses, Center for Chronic Viral Diseases, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima 890-8544 (Japan); Eizuru, Yoshito [Division of Persistent and Oncogenic Viruses, Center for Chronic Viral Diseases, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima 890-8544 (Japan)

2010-06-04

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV)-encoded latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA) protein has been reported to interact with glycogen synthase kinase 3{beta} (GSK-3{beta}) and to negatively regulate its activity, leading to stimulation of GSK-3{beta}-dependent {beta}-catenin degradation. We show here that the I-mfa domain proteins, HIC (human I-mfa domain-containing protein) and I-mfa (inhibitor of MyoD family a), interacted in vivo with LANA through their C-terminal I-mfa domains. This interaction affected the intracellular localization of HIC, inhibited the LANA-dependent transactivation of a {beta}-catenin-regulated reporter construct, and decreased the level of the LANA.GSK-3{beta} complex. These data reveal for the first time that I-mfa domain proteins interact with LANA and negatively regulate LANA-mediated activation of Wnt signaling-dependent transcription by inhibiting the formation of the LANA.GSK-3{beta} complex.

The psychophysiology of parenting: Individual differences in autonomic reactivity to positive and negative mood inductions and observed parental affect during dyadic interactions with children.

Science.gov (United States)

Connell, Arin M; Dawson, Glen C; Danzo, Sarah; McKillop, Hannah N

2017-02-01

Parenting is a complex activity driven, in part, by parental emotional and physiological responses. However, work examining the physiological underpinnings of parenting behavior is still in its infancy, and very few studies have examined such processes beyond early childhood. The current study examines associations between Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) indices of parents' physiological reactivity to positive and negative mood states and observed parental affect during a series of discussion tasks with their adolescent child. Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) was measured as an index of parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activation while viewing film clips designed to induce neutral, sad, and amused mood states. Parental positive affect, anger, and distress were observed during a series of parent-child discussion tasks, which included an ambiguous discussion regarding adolescent growth, a conflict discussion, and a fun-activity planning discussion. Results supported the association between aspects of parental physiological reactivity and observed affect during dyadic interactions. Further, RSA interacted with maternal depression to predict observed positive affect, anger, and distress, although differences across tasks and specific emotions were found regarding the nature of the interaction effects. Overall, results suggest that such neurobiological processes may be particularly important predictors of parental behavior, particularly in at-risk populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Interactions between polymorphisms in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor signalling pathway and exposure to persistent organochlorine pollutants affect human semen quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brokken, L J S; Lundberg, P J; Spanò, M

2014-01-01

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) may affect male reproductive function. Many dioxin-like POPs exert their effects by activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signalling pathway. We analysed whether gene-environment interactions between polymorphisms in AHR (R554K) and AHR repressor (...

2′-Methyl-2′-nitro-1′-phenyl-2′,3′,5′,6′,7′,7a'-hexahydrospiro[indoline-3,3′-1′H-pyrrolizin]-2-one

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaghoub Sarrafi

2008-08-01

Full Text Available The title compound, C21H21N3O3, was synthesized by a multi-component 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylide, derived from isatin and proline by a decarboxylative route, and (E-1-phenyl-2-nitropropene. In the molecule, the spiro junction links a planar oxindole ring and a pyrrolidine ring in an envelope conformation. The molecular packing is stabilized by an intermolecular N—H...N interaction of the oxindole and pyrrolizidine rings.

Lived Culture and Psychology: Sharedness and Normativity as Discursive, Embodied and Affective Engagements with the World in Social Interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2018-01-01

Topic, we want to examine closer what exactly can be understood by “sharedness” and “normativity” by taking a closer look at discursive, embodied and affective engagements with the world in social interaction. As Charles Goodwin has convincingly shown, these discursive practices need to be understood...... of certain ways of understanding the world and the normative dimension of social life as action based, as processual, mutually shaped, dynamic and fluid, ever evolving meaning making in situated social interaction (cp. Bakhtin, Garfinkel and Wittgenstein). Within the broader field of Cultural Psychology......, this Research Topic considers approaches that deem the nature of psychological phenomena to be dialogically intertwined with discursive and embodied practices in social interaction, the shape of which is always situational, ecologically embedded. We specifically want to address the question of methodology. What...

Screening and identification of metabolites of two kinds of main active ingredients and hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in rat after lavage Farfarae Flos extract by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Xiaoye; Liao, Man; Diao, Xinpeng; Sun, Yupeng; Zhang, Lantong

2018-02-01

Farfarae Flos, the dried flower buds of Tussilago farfara L., is usually used to treat coughs, bronchitic and asthmatic conditions as an important traditional Chinese medicine. Tussilagone and methl butyric acid tussilagin ester are seen as representatives of two kinds of active substances. In addition, the pyrrolizidine alkaloids, mainly senkirkine and senecionine, present in the herb can be hepatoxic. In this study, a rapid and sensitive ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid triple quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry method was successfully applied to identify the metabolites of tussilagone, methl butyric acid tussilagin ester, senkirkine and senecionine. A total of 35, 37, 18 and nine metabolites of tussilagone, methl butyric acid tussilagin ester, senkirkine and senecionine in rats were tentatively identified. Hydrolysis, oxidation, reduction and demethylation were the major metabolic reactions for tussilagone and methl butyric acid tussilagin ester. The main biotransformation routes of senkirkine and senecionine were identified as demethylation, N-methylation, oxidation and reduction. This study is the first reported analysis and characterization of the metabolites and the proposed metabolic pathways might provide further understanding of the metabolic fate of the chemical constituents after oral administration of Farfarae Flos extract in vivo. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Social and Affective Robotics Tutorial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pantic, Maja; Evers, Vanessa; Deisenroth, Marc; Merino, Luis; Schuller, Björn

2016-01-01

Social and Affective Robotics is a growing multidisciplinary field encompassing computer science, engineering, psychology, education, and many other disciplines. It explores how social and affective factors influence interactions between humans and robots, and how affect and social signals can be

The Dynamic Reactance Interaction - How Vested Interests Affect People's Experience, Behavior, and Cognition in Social Interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Steindl, Christina; Jonas, Eva

2015-01-01

In social interactions, individuals may sometimes pursue their own interests at the expense of their interaction partner. Such self-interested behaviors impose a threat to the interaction partner's freedom to act. The current article investigates this threat in the context of interdependence and reactance theory. We explore how vested interests influence reactance process stages of an advisor-client interaction. We aim to explore the interactional process that evolves. In two studies, participants took the perspective of a doctor (advisor) or a patient (client). In both studies we incorporated a vested interest. In Study 1 (N = 82) we found that in response to a vested interest of their interaction partner, patients indicated a stronger experience of reactance, more aggressive behavioral intentions, and more biased cognitions than doctors. A serial multiple mediation revealed that a vested interest engendered mistrust toward the interaction partner and this mistrust led to an emerging reactance process. Study 2 (N = 207) further demonstrated that doctors expressed their reactance in a subtle way: they revealed a classic confirmation bias when searching for additional information on their preliminary decision preference, indicating stronger defense motivation. We discuss how these findings can help us to understand how social interactions develop dynamically.

Methyl esterification of pectin plays a role during plant-pathogen interactions and affects plant resistance to diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Lionetti, Vincenzo; Cervone, Felice; Bellincampi, Daniela

2012-11-01

The cell wall is a complex structure mainly composed by a cellulose-hemicellulose network embedded in a cohesive pectin matrix. Pectin is synthesized in a highly methyl esterified form and is de-esterified in muro by pectin methyl esterases (PMEs). The degree and pattern of methyl esterification affect the cell wall structure and properties with consequences on both the physiological processes of the plants and their resistance to pathogens. PME activity displays a crucial role in the outcome of the plant-pathogen interactions by making pectin more susceptible to the action of the enzymes produced by the pathogens. This review focuses on the impact of pectin methyl esterification in plant-pathogen interactions and on the dynamic role of its alteration during pathogenesis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Soil fauna and organic amendment interactions affect soil carbon and crop performance in semi-arid West Africa

OpenAIRE

Ouédraogo, E.; Brussaard, L.; Stroosnijder, L.

2007-01-01

A field experiment was conducted at Kaibo in southern Burkina Faso on an Eutric Cambisol during the 2000 rainy season to assess the interaction of organic amendment quality and soil fauna, affecting soil organic carbon and sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) performance. Plots were treated with the pesticides Dursban and Endosulfan to exclude soil fauna or left untreated. Sub-treatments consisted of surface-placed maize straw ( C/N ratio= 58), Andropogon straw ( C/N ratio= 153), cattle dung ...

Alcalóides pirrolizidínicos em espécies do gênero Senecio

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Silva Chana de Medeiros da

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Senecio species contain a large variety of secondary metabolites and many of these plants afford pyrrolizidine alkaloids. This paper is a review of the literature, describing 62 pyrrolizidine alkaloids already isolated in 62 of more than 2000 species of Senecio, distributed worldwide. The structure-activity relationships involving their toxicity are also discussed, since some Senecio species used for medicinal purposes are responsible for causing serious adverse effects.

Alcalóides pirrolizidínicos em espécies do gênero Senecio

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chana de Medeiros da Silva

2006-10-01

Full Text Available Senecio species contain a large variety of secondary metabolites and many of these plants afford pyrrolizidine alkaloids. This paper is a review of the literature, describing 62 pyrrolizidine alkaloids already isolated in 62 of more than 2000 species of Senecio, distributed worldwide. The structure-activity relationships involving their toxicity are also discussed, since some Senecio species used for medicinal purposes are responsible for causing serious adverse effects.

Human Technology and Human Affects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fausing, Bent

2009-01-01

Human Technology and Human Affects  This year Samsung introduced a mobile phone with "Soul". It was made with a human touch and included itself a magical touch. Which function does technology and affects get in everyday aesthetics like this, its images and interactions included this presentation...... will ask and try to answer. The mobile phone and its devices are depicted as being able to make a unique human presence, interaction, and affect. The medium, the technology is a necessary helper to get towards this very special and lost humanity. Without the technology, no special humanity - soul....... The paper will investigate how technology, humanity, affects, and synaesthesia are presented and combined with examples from everyday aesthetics, e.g. early computer tv-commercial, net-commercial for mobile phones. Technology and affects point, is the conclusion, towards a forgotten pre-human and not he...

Multifunctionality is affected by interactions between green roof plant species, substrate depth, and substrate type.

Science.gov (United States)

Dusza, Yann; Barot, Sébastien; Kraepiel, Yvan; Lata, Jean-Christophe; Abbadie, Luc; Raynaud, Xavier

2017-04-01

Green roofs provide ecosystem services through evapotranspiration and nutrient cycling that depend, among others, on plant species, substrate type, and substrate depth. However, no study has assessed thoroughly how interactions between these factors alter ecosystem functions and multifunctionality of green roofs. We simulated some green roof conditions in a pot experiment. We planted 20 plant species from 10 genera and five families (Asteraceae, Caryophyllaceae, Crassulaceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae) on two substrate types (natural vs. artificial) and two substrate depths (10 cm vs. 30 cm). As indicators of major ecosystem functions, we measured aboveground and belowground biomasses, foliar nitrogen and carbon content, foliar transpiration, substrate water retention, and dissolved organic carbon and nitrates in leachates. Interactions between substrate type and depth strongly affected ecosystem functions. Biomass production was increased in the artificial substrate and deeper substrates, as was water retention in most cases. In contrast, dissolved organic carbon leaching was higher in the artificial substrates. Except for the Fabaceae species, nitrate leaching was reduced in deep, natural soils. The highest transpiration rates were associated with natural soils. All functions were modulated by plant families or species. Plant effects differed according to the observed function and the type and depth of the substrate. Fabaceae species grown on natural soils had the most noticeable patterns, allowing high biomass production and high water retention but also high nitrate leaching from deep pots. No single combination of factors enhanced simultaneously all studied ecosystem functions, highlighting that soil-plant interactions induce trade-offs between ecosystem functions. Substrate type and depth interactions are major drivers for green roof multifunctionality.

Methyl salicylate production in tomato affects biotic interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ament, Kai; Krasikov, Vladimir; Allmann, Silke; Rep, Martijn; Takken, Frank L W; Schuurink, Robert C

2010-04-01

The role of methyl salicylate (MeSA) production was studied in indirect and direct defence responses of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) to the spider mite Tetranychus urticae and the root-invading fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, respectively. To this end, we silenced the tomato gene encoding salicylic acid methyl transferase (SAMT). Silencing of SAMT led to a major reduction in SAMT expression and MeSA emission upon herbivory by spider mites, without affecting the induced emission of other volatiles (terpenoids). The predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis, which preys on T. urticae, could not discriminate between infested and non-infested SAMT-silenced lines, as it could for wild-type tomato plants. Moreover, when given the choice between infested SAMT-silenced and infested wild-type plants, they preferred the latter. These findings are supportive of a major role for MeSA in this indirect defence response of tomato. SAMT-silenced tomato plants were less susceptible to a virulent strain of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, indicating that the direct defense responses in the roots are also affected in these plants. Our studies show that the conversion of SA to MeSA can affect both direct and indirect plant defence responses.

Mother, Father, and Infant as an Interactive System.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedersen, Frank A.

This study investigates three types of reciprocal interactions among members of the family unit (father, mother and infant): father-infant interaction affecting child's development, father-infant interaction affecting mother's behavior, and husband-wife interaction affecting mother's behavior. Data from a sample of 39 healthy first-born infants…

Aging and a genetic KIBRA polymorphism interactively affect feedback- and observation-based probabilistic classification learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Schuck, Nicolas W; Petok, Jessica R; Meeter, Martijn; Schjeide, Brit-Maren M; Schröder, Julia; Bertram, Lars; Gluck, Mark A; Li, Shu-Chen

2018-01-01

Probabilistic category learning involves complex interactions between the hippocampus and striatum that may depend on whether acquisition occurs via feedback or observation. Little is known about how healthy aging affects these processes. We tested whether age-related behavioral differences in probabilistic category learning from feedback or observation depend on a genetic factor known to influence individual differences in hippocampal function, the KIBRA gene (single nucleotide polymorphism rs17070145). Results showed comparable age-related performance impairments in observational as well as feedback-based learning. Moreover, genetic analyses indicated an age-related interactive effect of KIBRA on learning: among older adults, the beneficial T-allele was positively associated with learning from feedback, but negatively with learning from observation. In younger adults, no effects of KIBRA were found. Our results add behavioral genetic evidence to emerging data showing age-related differences in how neural resources relate to memory functions, namely that hippocampal and striatal contributions to probabilistic category learning may vary with age. Our findings highlight the effects genetic factors can have on differential age-related decline of different memory functions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Differential induction of apoptosis and autophagy by pyrrolizidine alkaloid clivorine in human hepatoma Huh-7.5 cells and its toxic implication

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Fang, Shoucai; Ho, Wenzhe; Chen, Hui; Liang, Hao; Ye, Li; Tang, Jun

2017-01-01

Growing evidence suggests that the pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs)-induced hepatotoxicity is mediated by multiple cell death/defence modalities. However, the detailed mechanisms are still lacking. In this study, the hepatotoxic effects of four PAs including three retronecine-type ones (senecionine, seneciphylline and monocrotaline) and one otonecine-type (clivorine) on the proliferation of Huh-7.5 cells and the possible mechanisms were investigated. The results showed that all the PAs could inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. Among them clivorine was the most significant one. In addition to its effect on apoptosis, clivorine treatment could promote autophagy in Huh-7.5 cells, as evidenced by the accumulation of autophagosomes, the enhancement of LC3B expression at the concentrations close to its IC0 value, and the increased conversion of LC3B-I to LC3B-II in the presence of lysosomal inhibitor (chloroquine) and decreased formation of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-LC3 positive puncta in the presence of autophagic sequestration inhibitor (3-methyladenine). Among the other tested PAs, senecionine and seneciphylline also activated autophagy at the same concentrations used for clivorine but monocrotaline did not. Furthermore, our study demonstrated that suppression or enhancement of autophagy resulted in the remarkable enhancement or suppression of senecionine, seneciphylline and clivorine-induced apoptosis at the concentration close to the IC10 for clivorine, respectively, indicating a protective role of autophagy against the PA-induced apoptosis at the low level of exposure. Collectively, our data suggest that PAs in different structures may exert different toxic disturbances on the liver cells. Apoptosis may be one of the most common models of the PA-induced cytotoxicity, while autophagy may be a structure-dependent defence model in the early stage of PA intoxication. Differential induction of apoptosis and autophagy

Interaction between sodium chloride and texture in semi-hard Danish cheese as affected by brining time, DL-starter culture, chymosin type and cheese ripening

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Akkerman, Marije; Søndergaard Kristensen, Lise; Jespersen, Lene

2017-01-01

Reduced NaCl in semi-hard cheeses greatly affects textural and sensory properties. The interaction between cheese NaCl concentration and texture was affected by brining time (0-28 h), . dl-starter cultures (C1, C2, and C3), chymosin type (bovine or camel), and ripening time (1-12 weeks). Cheese Na...... is reducible without significant textural impact using well-defined starter cultures and camel chymosin....

[Affective behavioural responses by dogs to tactile human-dog interactions].

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhne, Franziska; Hössler, Johanna C; Struwe, Rainer

2012-01-01

The communication of dogs is based on complex, subtle body postures and facial expressions. Some social interaction between dogs includes physical contact. Humans generally use both verbal and tactile signals to communicate with dogs. Hence, interaction between humans and dogs might lead to conflicts because the behavioural responses of dogs to human-dog interaction may be misinterpreted and wrongly assessed. The behavioural responses of dogs to tactile human-dog interactions and human gestures are the focus of this study. The participating dogs (n = 47) were privately owned pets.They were of varying breed and gender.The test consisted of nine randomised test sequences (e. g. petting the dog's head or chest). A test sequence was performed for a period of 30 seconds. The inter-trial interval was set at 60 seconds and the test-retest interval was set at 10 minutes. The frequency and duration of the dogs'behavioural responses were recorded using INTERACT. To examine the behavioural responses of the dogs, a two-way analysis of variance within the linear mixed models procedure of IBM SPSS Statistics 19 was conducted. A significant influence of the test-sequenc order on the dogs' behaviour could be analysed for appeasement gestures (F8,137 = 2.42; p = 0.018), redirected behaviour (F8,161 = 6.31; p = 0.012) and socio-positive behaviour (F8,148 = 6.28; p = 0.012). The behavioural responses of the dogs, which were considered as displacement activities (F8,109 = 2.5; p = 0.014) differed significantly among the test sequences. The response of the dogs, measured as gestures of appeasement, redirected behaviours, and displacement activities, was most obvious during petting around the head and near the paws.The results of this study conspicuously indicate that dogs respond to tactile human-dog interactions with gestures of appeasement and displacement activities. Redirected behaviours, socio-positive behaviours as well displacement activities are behavioural responses which dogs

Mobile Education: Towards Affective Bi-modal Interaction for Adaptivity

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Efthymios Alepis

2009-04-01

Full Text Available One important field where mobile technology can make significant contributions is education. However one criticism in mobile education is that students receive impersonal teaching. Affective computing may give a solution to this problem. In this paper we describe an affective bi-modal educational system for mobile devices. In our research we describe a novel approach of combining information from two modalities namely the keyboard and the microphone through a multi-criteria decision making theory.

Keeper-Animal Interactions: Differences between the Behaviour of Zoo Animals Affect Stockmanship.

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Samantha J; Melfi, Vicky

2015-01-01

Stockmanship is a term used to describe the management of animals with a good stockperson someone who does this in a in a safe, effective, and low-stress manner for both the stock-keeper and animals involved. Although impacts of unfamiliar zoo visitors on animal behaviour have been extensively studied, the impact of stockmanship i.e familiar zoo keepers is a new area of research; which could reveal significant ramifications for zoo animal behaviour and welfare. It is likely that different relationships are formed dependant on the unique keeper-animal dyad (human-animal interaction, HAI). The aims of this study were to (1) investigate if unique keeper-animal dyads were formed in zoos, (2) determine whether keepers differed in their interactions towards animals regarding their attitude, animal knowledge and experience and (3) explore what factors affect keeper-animal dyads and ultimately influence animal behaviour and welfare. Eight black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), eleven Chapman's zebra (Equus burchellii), and twelve Sulawesi crested black macaques (Macaca nigra) were studied in 6 zoos across the UK and USA. Subtle cues and commands directed by keepers towards animals were identified. The animals latency to respond and the respective behavioural response (cue-response) was recorded per keeper-animal dyad (n = 93). A questionnaire was constructed following a five-point Likert Scale design to record keeper demographic information and assess the job satisfaction of keepers, their attitude towards the animals and their perceived relationship with them. There was a significant difference in the animals' latency to appropriately respond after cues and commands from different keepers, indicating unique keeper-animal dyads were formed. Stockmanship style was also different between keepers; two main components contributed equally towards this: "attitude towards the animals" and "knowledge and experience of the animals". In this novel study, data demonstrated unique dyads

Dim light at night interacts with intermittent hypoxia to alter cognitive and affective responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Aubrecht, Taryn G; Weil, Zachary M; Magalang, Ulysses J; Nelson, Randy J

2013-07-01

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and dim light at night (dLAN) have both been independently associated with alterations in mood and cognition. We aimed to determine whether dLAN would interact with intermittent hypoxia (IH), a condition characteristic of OSA, to alter the behavioral, cognitive, and affective responses. Adult male mice were housed in either standard lighting conditions (14:10-h light-dark cycle; 150 lux:0 lux) or dLAN (150 lux:5 lux). Mice were then exposed to IH (15 cycles/h, 8 h/day, FiO2 nadir of 5%) for 3 wk, then tested in assays of affective and cognitive responses; brains were collected for dendritic morphology and PCR analysis. Exposure to dLAN and IH increased anxiety-like behaviors, as assessed in the open field, elevated plus maze, and the light/dark box. dLAN and IH increased depressive-like behaviors in the forced swim test. IH impaired learning and memory performance in the passive avoidance task; however, no differences were observed in spatial working memory, as assessed by y-maze or object recognition. IH combined with dLAN decreased cell body area in the CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus. Overall, IH decreased apical spine density in the CA3, whereas dLAN decreased spine density in the CA1 of the hippocampus. TNF-α gene expression was not altered by IH or lighting condition, whereas VEGF expression was increased by dLAN. The combination of IH and dLAN provokes negative effects on hippocampal dendritic morphology, affect, and cognition, suggesting that limiting nighttime exposure to light in combination with other established treatments may be of benefit to patients with OSA.

Exercisers' perceptions of their fitness instructor's interacting style, perceived competence, and autonomy as a function of self-determined regulation to exercise, enjoyment, affect, and exercise frequency.

Science.gov (United States)

Puente, Rogelio; Anshel, Mark H

2010-02-01

The primary purpose of the present investigation was to test the hypothesis, derived from Self-Determination Theory (SDT), that an individual's perceived competence and autonomy mediate the relationship between the exercisers' perception of their instructor's interaction style and the exercisers' motivation to exercise. A secondary purpose was to identify the affective and behavioral outcomes derived from self-determined regulation. It was hypothesized that SDT would significantly explain and predict exercise behavior. Participants consisted of 238 college students, 103 males and 135 females (M age = 20.4 years, SD = 2.16), who volunteered to participate in the study. They were asked to complete a battery of questionnaires measuring instructor's interacting style, self-regulation to exercise, perceived autonomy and competence, enjoyment, positive and negative affect, and exercise frequency. Using structural equation modeling with observed variables, the results showed that perceived competence and autonomy mediated the relationship between perceived instructor's interacting style and self-determined regulation. It was also found that self-determined regulation was significantly related to exercise enjoyment, positive affect, and exercise frequency. It was concluded that understanding the motivational factors and emotional and behavioral consequences of physical activity will partially explain an individual's motives to engage regularly in exercise.

Comparison of the anti-inflammatory active constituents and hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in two Senecio plants and their preparations by LC-UV and LC-MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Pinghong; Wang, Yi; Chen, Lulin; Jiang, Wei; Niu, Yan; Shao, Qing; Gao, Lu; Zhao, Quancheng; Yan, Licheng; Wang, Shufang

2015-11-10

Two Senecio plants, Senecio cannabifolius Less. and its variety S. cannabifolius Less. var. integrifolius (Kiodz.) Kidam., were both used as the raw material of Feining granule, a traditional Chinese medicine product for treating respiratory diseases. In this study, the chemical profiles of these two plants were investigated and compared by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). A total number of 83 constituents, including 55 organic acids, 11 flavonoids, 4 alkaloids, 3 terpenes and 10 other types of compounds, were characterized. The results indicated that the levels of most flavonoids were higher in S. cannabifolius than in S. cannabifolius var. integrifolius, however, the levels of hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) were higher in S. cannabifolius var. integrifolius than in S. cannabifolius. Fifteen constituents were evaluated on lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induced RAW 264.7 cells, and eleven of them showed inhibition effect against nitric oxide (NO) production. Finally, the levels of ten major constituents (including seven anti-inflammatory active ones) and two PAs in Feining granule from two Senecio plants were determined and compared by the LC-UV and LC-MS methods, respectively. It was found that one organic acid (homogentisic acid) and two PAs (seneciphylline and senecionine) had higher contents in the preparation of S. cannabifolius var. integrifolius than in that of S. cannabifolius, however, the situations were inverse for the levels of four organic acids and flavonoids (chlorogenic acid, hyperoside, isoquercitrin, and isochlorogenic acid B). Based on the above results, S. cannabifolius might be a better raw material for Feining granule than S. cannabifolius var. integrifolius, because it contained more anti-inflammatory constituents and less hepatotoxic PAs than the latter. However, more pharmacological evaluations should be carried out to support the selection. The results in this study were helpful

Neural systems supporting cognitive-affective interactions in adolescence: The role of puberty and implications for affective disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cecile D. Ladouceur

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Evidence from longitudinal studies suggests that adolescence may represent a period of vulnerability that, in the context of adverse events, could contribute to developmental trajectories toward behavioral and emotional health problems, including affective disorders. Adolescence is also a sensitive period for the development of neural systems supporting cognitive-affective processes, which have been implicated in the pathophysiology of affective disorders such as anxiety and mood disorders. In particular, the onset of puberty brings about a cascade of physical, hormonal, psychological, and social changes that contribute in complex ways to the development of these systems. This article provides a brief overview of neuroimaging research pertaining to the development of cognitive-affective processes in adolescence. It also includes a brief review of evidence from animal and human neuroimaging studies suggesting that sex steroids influence the connectivity between prefrontal cortical and subcortical limbic regions in ways that contribute to increased reactivity to emotionally salient stimuli. We integrate these findings in the context of a developmental affective neuroscience framework suggesting that the impact of rising levels of sex steroids during puberty on fronto-limbic connectivity may be even greater in the context of protracted development of prefrontal cortical regions in adolescence. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for future research aimed at identifying neurodevelopmental markers of risk for future onset of affective disorders.

Development of a fast isocratic LC-MS/MS method for the high-throughput analysis of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in Australian honey.

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, Caroline T; Mitrovic, Simon M; Danaher, Martin; Furey, Ambrose

2015-01-01

Honey samples originating from Australia were purchased and analysed for targeted pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) using a new and rapid isocratic LC-MS/MS method. This isocratic method was developed from, and is comparable with, a gradient elution method and resulted in no loss of sensitivity or reduction in chromatographic peak shape. Isocratic elution allows for significantly shorter run times (6 min), eliminates the requirement for column equilibration periods and, thus, has the advantage of facilitating a high-throughput analysis which is particularly important for regulatory testing laboratories. In excess of two hundred injections are possible, with this new isocratic methodology, within a 24-h period which is more than 50% improvement on all previously published methodologies. Good linear calibrations were obtained for all 10 PAs and four PA N-oxides (PANOs) in spiked honey samples (3.57-357.14 µg l(-1); R(2) ≥ 0.9987). Acceptable inter-day repeatability was achieved for the target analytes in honey with % RSD values (n = 4) less than 7.4%. Limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantitation (LOQ) were achieved with spiked PAs and PANOs samples; giving an average LOD of 1.6 µg kg(-1) and LOQ of 5.4 µg kg(-1). This method was successfully applied to Australian and New Zealand honey samples sourced from supermarkets in Australia. Analysis showed that 41 of the 59 honey samples were contaminated by PAs with the mean total sum of PAs being 153 µg kg(-1). Echimidine and lycopsamine were predominant and found in 76% and 88%, respectively, of the positive samples. The average daily exposure, based on the results presented in this study, were 0.051 µg kg(-1) bw day(-1) for adults and 0.204 µg kg(-1) bw day(-1) for children. These results are a cause for concern when compared with the proposed European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Committee on Toxicity (COT) and Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (BfR - Federal Institute of Risk Assessment Germany) maximum

Chemical fingerprinting identifies Echium vulgare, Eupatorium cannabinum and Senecio spp. as plant species mainly responsible for pyrrolizidine alkaloids in bee-collected pollen.

Science.gov (United States)

Kast, Christina; Kilchenmann, Verena; Reinhard, Hans; Droz, Benoit; Lucchetti, Matteo Angelo; Dübecke, Arne; Beckh, Gudrun; Zoller, Otmar

2018-02-01

Various studies have shown that bee-collected pollen sold as nutritional supplements may contain toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and, thus, pose a potential health risk for consumers. The level of contamination may vary according to its geographical and botanical origin. Here, the PA content of pollen produced in Switzerland was studied and 32 commercially available bee-collected pollen supplements produced between 2010 and 2014 were analysed. In addition, at what time period bees collect PA-containing pollen was investigated. Hence, this study looked into the occurrence of PAs in pollen samples collected daily during two-to-three consecutive seasons. Furthermore, the PA spectrum in pollen was compared to the spectrum found in flower heads of PA-plants to unambiguously identify plants responsible for PA contamination of pollen. The PA concentration of commercial and daily collected pollen was determined by target analysis using an HPLC-MS/MS system, allowing the detection of 18 different PAs and PA N-oxides found in the genera Echium, Eupatorium and Senecio, while the comparison of the PA spectrum in pollen and flower heads was performed by LC-HR-MS, allowing the detection of all PA types in a sample, including saturated, non-carcinogenic PAs. Of the commercially available pollen, 31% contained PAs with a mean concentration of 319 ng/g, mainly Echium- and Eupatorium-type PAs, while the PA concentrations were below the limit of quantitation (LOQ) in 69% of the pollen samples. Bees collected pollen containing Echium-type PAs mainly in June and July, while they gathered pollen containing Eupatorium-type PAs from mid-July to August. Senecio-type PAs appeared from June to September. Comparison of the PA array in pollen and plants identified E. vulgare and E. cannabinum as the main plants responsible for PA contamination of Swiss bee-collected pollen, and to a lesser extent also identified plants belonging to the genus Senecio.

GxE Interactions Between FOXO Genotypes and Tea Drinking Significantly Affect Cognitive Disability at Advanced Ages in China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeng, Yi; Chen, Huashuai; Ni, Ting

2015-01-01

Logistic regression analysis based on data from 822 Han Chinese oldest old aged 92+ demonstrated that interactions between carrying FOXO1A-266 or FOXO3-310 or FOXO3-292 and tea drinking at around age 60 or at present time were significantly associated with lower risk of cognitive disability...... at advanced ages. Associations between tea drinking and reduced cognitive disability were much stronger among carriers of the genotypes of FOXO1A-266 or FOXO3-310 or FOXO3-292 compared with noncarriers, and it was reconfirmed by analysis of three-way interactions across FOXO genotypes, tea drinking at around...... age 60, and at present time. Based on prior findings from animal and human cell models, we postulate that intake of tea compounds may activate FOXO gene expression, which in turn may positively affect cognitive function in the oldest old population. Our empirical findings imply that the health...

The dynamic reactance interaction – How vested interests affect people’s experience, behavior, and cognition in social interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christina eSteindl

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In social interactions, individuals may sometimes pursue their own interests at the expense of their interaction partner. Such self-interested behaviors impose a threat to the interaction partner’s freedom to act. The current article investigates this threat in the context of interdependence and reactance theory. We explore how vested interests influence reactance process stages of an advisor-client interaction. We aim to explore the interactional process that evolves. In two studies, participants took the perspective of a doctor (advisor or a patient (client. In both studies we incorporated a vested interest. In Study 1 (N=82 we found that in response to a vested interest of their interaction partner, patients indicated a stronger experience of reactance, more aggressive behavioral intentions, and more biased cognitions than doctors. A serial multiple mediation revealed that a vested interest engendered mistrust toward the interaction partner and this mistrust led to an emerging reactance process. Study 2 (N=207 further demonstrated that doctors expressed their reactance in a subtle way: They revealed a classic confirmation bias when searching for additional information on their preliminary decision preference, indicating stronger defense motivation. We discuss how these findings can help us to understand how social interactions develop dynamically.

The Dynamic Reactance Interaction – How Vested Interests Affect People’s Experience, Behavior, and Cognition in Social Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Steindl, Christina; Jonas, Eva

2015-01-01

In social interactions, individuals may sometimes pursue their own interests at the expense of their interaction partner. Such self-interested behaviors impose a threat to the interaction partner’s freedom to act. The current article investigates this threat in the context of interdependence and reactance theory. We explore how vested interests influence reactance process stages of an advisor–client interaction. We aim to explore the interactional process that evolves. In two studies, participants took the perspective of a doctor (advisor) or a patient (client). In both studies we incorporated a vested interest. In Study 1 (N = 82) we found that in response to a vested interest of their interaction partner, patients indicated a stronger experience of reactance, more aggressive behavioral intentions, and more biased cognitions than doctors. A serial multiple mediation revealed that a vested interest engendered mistrust toward the interaction partner and this mistrust led to an emerging reactance process. Study 2 (N = 207) further demonstrated that doctors expressed their reactance in a subtle way: they revealed a classic confirmation bias when searching for additional information on their preliminary decision preference, indicating stronger defense motivation. We discuss how these findings can help us to understand how social interactions develop dynamically. PMID:26640444

Interaction affective et expressive. Compagnon artificiel-humain

OpenAIRE

Riviere , Jérémy

2012-01-01

The aim of this thesis is to make an Embodied Conversational Agent (ECA) sincere in order to, on one hand, improve its believability from the human's point of view, and on the other hand make it acceptable in an affective relationship between an artificial companion and a human. The first part of this work consists in creating a Multimodal Conversation Language (MCL) for an ECA, made up of Multimodal Conversation Acts (MCA) such as promise, apologise or demand. These MCA allow the agent to ap...

COOPERATIVE PLAY AFFECTS SOCIAL INTERACTION OF CHILDREN WHO HAVE INTROVERT PERSONALITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ira Rahmawati

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: One of school age children may developing task is learning to interact with their peer groups. The introvert have problem with their social interaction. One ways that can increase the social skill is play activities with social situation. So social play activities: cooperative play can be one of alternative solution to increase social interaction of children with introvert symptom. This study was aimed to explain effect of social play activities: cooperative play on social interaction of children with introvert symptom. Method: Quasy experiment design was used in this study. The population was school aged children with introvert symptom in SDN Kendangsari III/278 Surabaya. Total sample was 23 respondents consist of 12 respondents as treatment group and 11 respondents as controlled group. The independent variable was social play activities: cooperative play. The dependent was social interaction of children with introvert symptom. The Data was analyzed by Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and Mann Whitney U Test with level significance ofα ≤ 0.005. Result: Result showed that social play activities: cooperative play had significant effect on social interaction of children with introvert symptom (increased. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test showed treatment group had p = 0.002 and controlled group had p = 1.00. Mann Whitney U Test showed p = 0.002. Discussion: It concluded that social play activities: cooperative play can be one way to change social interaction of children with introvert symptom. Further studies should involve larger respondents and better measurement tools to obtain more accurate results.

Evidence for arginine as the endogenous precursor of necines in heliotropium.

Science.gov (United States)

Birecka, H; Birecki, M; Frohlich, M W

1987-05-01

In pyrrolizidine alkaloid-bearing Heliotropium angiospermum and H. indicum shoots exposed, in the light, to (14)C-labeled CO(2) for 44 hours, the incorporation of (14)C into 1,2-epoxy-1-hydroxymethylpyrrolizidine and retronecine amounted to 0.23 and 0.15%, respectively, of the total carbon assimilated. Treatment of the shoots with alpha-dl-difluoromethylornithine, the specific ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor, at 1 to 2 millimolar had no effect on (14)C incorporation into the necines. In contrast, alpha-dl-difluoromethylarginine, the specific arginine decarboxylase inhibitor, prevented the incorporation of (14)C into the necines of both species; the inhibitor did not affect the absolute incorporation of (14)C from exogenous [1,4-(14)C] putrescine in either species. Thus, arginine is the only apparent endogenous precursor of the putrescine channeled into pyrrolizidines, at least in these two Heliotropium species that exhibited a relatively much higher in vitro activity of arginine decarboxylase than of ornithine decarboxylase. However, within 28 hours after administration, not only exogenous l-[5-(14)C]arginine, but also exogenous l-[5-(14)C]ornithine exhibited significant incorporation of their label into the necines, incorporation that could be partially prevented by both inhibitors. Neither inhibitor affected the rates of (14)C-labeled CO(2) assimilation, transformation of labeled assimilates into ethanol-insoluble compounds, or the very high degree of conversion of the introduced amino acids into other compounds. Methodology related to alkaloid biosynthetic studies is discussed.

Evidence for Arginine as the Endogenous Precursor of Necines in Heliotropium1

Science.gov (United States)

Birecka, Helena; Birecki, Mieczyslaw; Frohlich, M. W.

1987-01-01

In pyrrolizidine alkaloid-bearing Heliotropium angiospermum and H. indicum shoots exposed, in the light, to 14C-labeled CO2 for 44 hours, the incorporation of 14C into 1,2-epoxy-1-hydroxymethylpyrrolizidine and retronecine amounted to 0.23 and 0.15%, respectively, of the total carbon assimilated. Treatment of the shoots with α-dl-difluoromethylornithine, the specific ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor, at 1 to 2 millimolar had no effect on 14C incorporation into the necines. In contrast, α-dl-difluoromethylarginine, the specific arginine decarboxylase inhibitor, prevented the incorporation of 14C into the necines of both species; the inhibitor did not affect the absolute incorporation of 14C from exogenous [1,4-14C] putrescine in either species. Thus, arginine is the only apparent endogenous precursor of the putrescine channeled into pyrrolizidines, at least in these two Heliotropium species that exhibited a relatively much higher in vitro activity of arginine decarboxylase than of ornithine decarboxylase. However, within 28 hours after administration, not only exogenous l-[5-14C]arginine, but also exogenous l-[5-14C]ornithine exhibited significant incorporation of their label into the necines, incorporation that could be partially prevented by both inhibitors. Neither inhibitor affected the rates of 14C-labeled CO2 assimilation, transformation of labeled assimilates into ethanol-insoluble compounds, or the very high degree of conversion of the introduced amino acids into other compounds. Methodology related to alkaloid biosynthetic studies is discussed. PMID:16665402

Use of multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) to identify interactive meteorological conditions affecting relative throughfall

Science.gov (United States)

Van Stan, John T.; Gay, Trent E.; Lewis, Elliott S.

2016-02-01

Forest canopies alter rainfall reaching the surface by redistributing it as throughfall. Throughfall supplies water and nutrients to a variety of ecohydrological components (soil microbial communities, stream water discharge/chemistry, and stormflow pathways) and is controlled by canopy structural interactions with meteorological conditions across temporal scales. This work introduces and applies multiple correspondence analyses (MCAs) to a range of meteorological thresholds (median intensity, median absolute deviation (MAD) of intensity, median wind-driven droplet inclination angle, and MAD of wind speed) for an example throughfall problem: identification of interacting storm conditions corresponding to temporal concentration in relative throughfall beyond the median observation (⩾73% of rain). MCA results from the example show that equalling or exceeding rain intensity thresholds (median and MAD) corresponded with temporal concentration of relative throughfall across all storms. Under these intensity conditions, two wind mechanisms produced significant correspondences: (1) high, steady wind-driven droplet inclination angles increased surface wetting; and (2) sporadic winds shook entrained droplets from surfaces. A discussion is provided showing that these example MCA findings agree well with previous work relying on more historically common methods (e.g., multiple regression and analytical models). Meteorological threshold correspondences to temporal concentration of relative throughfall at our site may be a function of heavy Tillandsia usneoides coverage. Applications of MCA within other forests may provide useful insights to how temporal throughfall dynamics are affected for drainage pathways dependent on different structures (leaves, twigs, branches, etc.).

COOPERATIVE PLAY AFFECTS SOCIAL INTERACTION OF CHILDREN WHO HAVE INTROVERT PERSONALITY

OpenAIRE

Ira Rahmawati; Ah. Yusuf; Ilya Krisnana

2017-01-01

Introduction: One of school age children may developing task is learning to interact with their peer groups. The introvert have problem with their social interaction. One ways that can increase the social skill is play activities with social situation. So social play activities: cooperative play can be one of alternative solution to increase social interaction of children with introvert symptom. This study was aimed to explain effect of social play activities: cooperative play on social inter...

Investigating the Neural Correlates of Emotion–Cognition Interaction Using an Affective Stroop Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nora M. Raschle

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The human brain has the capacity to integrate various sources of information and continuously adapts our behavior according to situational needs in order to allow a healthy functioning. Emotion–cognition interactions are a key example for such integrative processing. However, the neuronal correlates investigating the effects of emotion on cognition remain to be explored and replication studies are needed. Previous neuroimaging studies have indicated an involvement of emotion and cognition related brain structures including parietal and prefrontal cortices and limbic brain regions. Here, we employed whole brain event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI during an affective number Stroop task and aimed at replicating previous findings using an adaptation of an existing task design in 30 healthy young adults. The Stroop task is an indicator of cognitive control and enables the quantification of interference in relation to variations in cognitive load. By the use of emotional primes (negative/neutral prior to Stroop task performance, an emotional variation is added as well. Behavioral in-scanner data showed that negative primes delayed and disrupted cognitive processing. Trials with high cognitive demand furthermore negatively influenced cognitive control mechanisms. Neuronally, the emotional primes consistently activated emotion-related brain regions (e.g., amygdala, insula, and prefrontal brain regions while Stroop task performance lead to activations in cognition networks of the brain (prefrontal cortices, superior temporal lobe, and insula. When assessing the effect of emotion on cognition, increased cognitive demand led to decreases in neural activation in response to emotional stimuli (negative > neutral within prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and insular cortex. Overall, these results suggest that emotional primes significantly impact cognitive performance and increasing cognitive demand leads to reduced neuronal activation in

Do induced responses mediate the ecological interactions between the specialist herbivores and phytopathogens of an alpine plant?

Science.gov (United States)

Röder, Gregory; Rahier, Martine; Naisbit, Russell E

2011-05-04

Plants are not passive victims of the myriad attackers that rely on them for nutrition. They have a suite of physical and chemical defences, and are even able to take advantage of the enemies of their enemies. These strategies are often only deployed upon attack, so may lead to indirect interactions between herbivores and phytopathogens. In this study we test for induced responses in wild populations of an alpine plant (Adenostyles alliariae) that possesses constitutive chemical defence (pyrrolizidine alkaloids) and specialist natural enemies (two species of leaf beetle, Oreina elongata and Oreina cacaliae, and the phytopathogenic rust Uromyces cacaliae). Plants were induced in the field using chemical elicitors of the jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) pathways and monitored for one month under natural conditions. There was evidence for induced resistance, with lower probability and later incidence of attack by beetles in JA-induced plants and of rust infection in SA-induced plants. We also demonstrate ecological cross-effects, with reduced fungal attack following JA-induction, and a cost of SA-induction arising from increased beetle attack. As a result, there is the potential for negative indirect effects of the beetles on the rust, while in the field the positive indirect effect of the rust on the beetles appears to be over-ridden by direct effects on plant nutritional quality. Such interactions resulting from induced susceptibility and resistance must be considered if we are to exploit plant defences for crop protection using hormone elicitors or constitutive expression. More generally, the fact that induced defences are even found in species that possess constitutively-expressed chemical defence suggests that they may be ubiquitous in higher plants.

Do induced responses mediate the ecological interactions between the specialist herbivores and phytopathogens of an alpine plant?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregory Röder

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Plants are not passive victims of the myriad attackers that rely on them for nutrition. They have a suite of physical and chemical defences, and are even able to take advantage of the enemies of their enemies. These strategies are often only deployed upon attack, so may lead to indirect interactions between herbivores and phytopathogens. In this study we test for induced responses in wild populations of an alpine plant (Adenostyles alliariae that possesses constitutive chemical defence (pyrrolizidine alkaloids and specialist natural enemies (two species of leaf beetle, Oreina elongata and Oreina cacaliae, and the phytopathogenic rust Uromyces cacaliae. Plants were induced in the field using chemical elicitors of the jasmonic acid (JA and salicylic acid (SA pathways and monitored for one month under natural conditions. There was evidence for induced resistance, with lower probability and later incidence of attack by beetles in JA-induced plants and of rust infection in SA-induced plants. We also demonstrate ecological cross-effects, with reduced fungal attack following JA-induction, and a cost of SA-induction arising from increased beetle attack. As a result, there is the potential for negative indirect effects of the beetles on the rust, while in the field the positive indirect effect of the rust on the beetles appears to be over-ridden by direct effects on plant nutritional quality. Such interactions resulting from induced susceptibility and resistance must be considered if we are to exploit plant defences for crop protection using hormone elicitors or constitutive expression. More generally, the fact that induced defences are even found in species that possess constitutively-expressed chemical defence suggests that they may be ubiquitous in higher plants.

Novel Genes Affecting the Interaction between the Cabbage Whitefly and Arabidopsis Uncovered by Genome-Wide Association Mapping.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Colette Broekgaarden

Full Text Available Plants have evolved a variety of ways to defend themselves against biotic attackers. This has resulted in the presence of substantial variation in defense mechanisms among plants, even within a species. Genome-wide association (GWA mapping is a useful tool to study the genetic architecture of traits, but has so far only had limited exploitation in studies of plant defense. Here, we study the genetic architecture of defense against the phloem-feeding insect cabbage whitefly (Aleyrodes proletella in Arabidopsis thaliana. We determined whitefly performance, i.e. the survival and reproduction of whitefly females, on 360 worldwide selected natural accessions and subsequently performed GWA mapping using 214,051 SNPs. Substantial variation for whitefly adult survival and oviposition rate (number of eggs laid per female per day was observed between the accessions. We identified 39 candidate SNPs for either whitefly adult survival or oviposition rate, all with relatively small effects, underpinning the complex architecture of defense traits. Among the corresponding candidate genes, i.e. genes in linkage disequilibrium (LD with candidate SNPs, none have previously been identified as a gene playing a role in the interaction between plants and phloem-feeding insects. Whitefly performance on knock-out mutants of a number of candidate genes was significantly affected, validating the potential of GWA mapping for novel gene discovery in plant-insect interactions. Our results show that GWA analysis is a very useful tool to gain insight into the genetic architecture of plant defense against herbivorous insects, i.e. we identified and validated several genes affecting whitefly performance that have not previously been related to plant defense against herbivorous insects.

Engaging in Affective Practices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Galløe, Lotte Rannveig

schools, the paper develops an affective-power approach drawing on Foucault’s notion of power and Whetherell’s conceptualisation of affect. The approach captures the affective dimension of governing and resistance in interactional practice that engages teachers and pupils. This enables a research focus......The paper presents how the merging of the theoretical concepts ‘Affect’ and ‘Power’ faces methodological and ethical challenges when entangled in teachers’ and pupils’ practice. Based on a study of pedagogical methods aiming to shape certain affective relations and avoid conflicts in Danish primary....... Witnessing tense conflict situations taking place I as a researcher get affected as well, and in turn affect the practice myself. Because, both the teacher, pupil, and I are well aware of my research focus on power and affect, being observed in conflictual situations contributes to pervasive shame...

Toward affective brain-computer interfaces : exploring the neurophysiology of affect during human media interaction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mühl, C.

2012-01-01

Affective Brain-Computer Interfaces (aBCI), the sensing of emotions from brain activity, seems a fantasy from the realm of science fiction. But unlike faster-than-light travel or teleportation, aBCI seems almost within reach due to novel sensor technologies, the advancement of neuroscience, and the

Species co-occurrence affects the trophic interactions of two juvenile reef shark species in tropical lagoon nurseries in Moorea (French Polynesia).

Science.gov (United States)

Matich, Philip; Kiszka, Jeremy J; Mourier, Johann; Planes, Serge; Heithaus, Michael R

2017-06-01

Food web structure is shaped by interactions within and across trophic levels. As such, understanding how the presence and absence of predators, prey, and competitors affect species foraging patterns is important for predicting the consequences of changes in species abundances, distributions, and behaviors. Here, we used plasma δ 13 C and δ 15 N values from juvenile blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) and juvenile sicklefin lemon sharks (Negaprion acutidens) to investigate how species co-occurrence affects their trophic interactions in littoral waters of Moorea, French Polynesia. Co-occurrence led to isotopic niche partitioning among sharks within nurseries, with significant increases in δ 15 N values among sicklefin lemon sharks, and significant decreases in δ 15 N among blacktip reef sharks. Niche segregation likely promotes coexistence of these two predators during early years of growth and development, but data do not suggest coexistence affects life history traits, such as body size, body condition, and ontogenetic niche shifts. Plasticity in trophic niches among juvenile blacktip reef sharks and sicklefin lemon sharks also suggests these predators are able to account for changes in community structure, resource availability, and intra-guild competition, and may fill similar functional roles in the absence of the other species, which is important as environmental change and human impacts persist in coral reef ecosystems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effective application of freezing lipid precipitation and SCX-SPE for determination of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in high lipid foodstuffs by LC-ESI-MS/MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Soo Hwan; Kim, Min-Sun; Kim, Sang Hoon; Park, Hyun Mee; Pyo, Heesoo; Lee, Yong Moon; Lee, Kyung-Tae; Hong, Jongki

2015-06-15

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are naturally occurring plant toxins associated with serious hepatic disease in humans and animals. In this study, rapid and sensitive analytical method was developed for the determination of 9 toxic PAs in popularly high lipid foodstuffs by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). PAs in lipid foodstuff were effectively purified by freezing lipid precipitation (FLP) and strong cation exchange (SCX)-solid-phase extraction (SPE). Especially, FLP could easily remove the large amounts of triacylglycerols in the lipid sample extract and effectively combine with SPE cleanup. During the FLP procedure, over 77% of the lipids in the foodstuff extracts were rapidly eliminated without any significant loss of the PAs with over 81% recovery. The elimination efficiency of lipids by FLP was tested with LC-atmospheric chemical ionization (APCI)-MS. For further purification, SCX-SPE cartridge could successfully purify PAs from the remaining interfering substances by the variation pH with 5% NH4OH in methanol. For precise quantification and confirmation of PAs in complicate sample matrices, appropriate transition ions in LC-MS/MS-multiple-ion reaction monitoring (MRM) mode were selected on the basis of MS/MS fragmentation pathways of PAs. The established analytical method was validated in terms of the linearity, limits of detection (LOD), and quantification (LOQ), precision, and accuracy. The method was deemed satisfactory by inter- and intra-day validation and exhibited both high accuracy and precision (relative standard deviation<11.06%). Overall limits of detection and quantitation of PAs were approximately 0.06-0.60ng/mL at a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 3 and were about 0.20-1.99ng/mL at a S/N of 10 for all foodstuffs. The established method was successfully applied for the monitoring of toxic PAs in several types of high lipid foodstuffs such as soybeans, seed oil, milk, and margarine. Copyright �

Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Hyphenated with Quadrupole-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry for Simultaneous Determination of Necine-Core-Structure Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Crotalaria sessiliflora L. without all Corresponding Standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wei; Huai, Wenbei; Zhang, Yi; Shen, Jincan; Tang, Xunyou; Xie, Xiujuan; Wang, Ke; Fan, Huajun

2017-09-01

Crotalaria sessiliflora L. is a Chinese traditional herb for treatment of cutaneum carcinoma and cervical carcinoma. In addition to monocrotaline, coexisting pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) also require further quantification for quality control and pharmaceutical uses of the herb. To establish a UPLC-Q-Orbitrap/MS method of simultaneous determination of coexisting PAs with same parent structure for quality control and comprehensive researches of Crotalaria sessiliflora L. PAs in Crotalaria sessiliflora L. were analysed by UPLC-Q-Orbitrap/MS method. Coexisting PAs were identified by mass data of full MS-dd-MS 2 based on the characteristic fragmentation pattern and necine-core structure. Moreover, quantification of PAs was conducted by parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) mode using m/z 138, m/z 120 and m/z 94 from identical necine-core structure as quantitative ions with single monocrotaline standard for accurate calibration. Five PAs, named monocrotaline, retrorsine, senecionine, integerrimine, O-9-angeloylretronecine, were indentified and confirmed. Quantitative ions of m/z 138, m/z 120 and m/z 94 were used for quantification of PAs containing the necine-core structure in Crotalaria sessiliflora L. The results demonstrated that contents, precision and recoveries of the five PAs mentioned earlier were respectively 3.307-30.35 μg/g, 1.1-4.5% and 88.91-92.33% while using m/z 120 as the best quantitative ion. The UPLC-Q-Orbitrap/MS method was established for simultaneous determination of five PAs in Crotalaria sessiliflora L. without all corresponding standards, and was proved that it was simple, convenient and effective for comprehensive quality control and pharmaceutical uses. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Affective Commitment among Student Affairs Professionals

Science.gov (United States)

Boehman, Joseph

2007-01-01

Student affairs professionals in the United States were surveyed to determine the predictive value of overall job satisfaction, organizational support, organizational politics, and work/nonwork interaction on affective organizational commitment. Results indicate that a supportive work environment leads to increased affective attachment to the…

Anisotropic spin transport affected by competition between spin orbit interaction and Zeeman effect in an InGaAs based wire

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nitta, Junsaku; Moulis, Sylvain; Kohda, Makoto

2011-01-01

Spin transport affected by competition between Zeeman effect and spin-orbit interaction (SOI) is investigated in order to check a proposed method to deduce the Rashba SOI α and Dresselhaus SOI β ratio. The experimentally obtained ratio α/β of the present sample is about 4 from angle dependence of magnetoconductance under in-plane magnetic field. The proposed method to detect the ratio by transport measurement is promising although further improvement of sample fabrication and measurement is required.

Morphine decreases social interaction of adult male rats, while THC does not affect it.

Science.gov (United States)

Šlamberová, R; Mikulecká, A; Macúchová, E; Hrebíčková, I; Ševčíková, M; Nohejlová, K; Pometlová, M

2016-12-22

The aim of the present study was to compare effect of three low doses of morphine (MOR) and delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on social behavior tested in Social interaction test (SIT). 45 min prior to testing adult male rats received one of the drugs or solvents: MOR (1; 2.5; 5 mg/kg); saline as a solvent for MOR; THC (0.5; 1; 2 mg/kg); ethanol as a solvent for THC. Occurrence and time spent in specific patterns of social interactions (SI) and non-social activities (locomotion and rearing) was video-recorded for 5 min and then analyzed. MOR in doses of 1 and 2.5 mg/kg displayed decreased SI in total. Detailed analysis of specific patterns of SI revealed decrease in mutual sniffing and allo-grooming after all doses of MOR. The highest dose (5 mg/kg) of MOR decreased following and increased genital investigation. Rearing activity was increased by lower doses of MOR (1 and 2.5 mg/kg). THC, in each of the tested doses, did not induce any specific changes when compared to matching control group (ethanol). However, an additional statistical analysis showed differences between all THC groups and their ethanol control group when compared to saline controls. There was lower SI in total, lower mutual sniffing and allo-grooming, but higher rearing in THC and ethanol groups than in saline control group. Thus, changes seen in THC and ethanol groups are seemed to be attributed mainly to the effect of the ethanol. Based on the present results we can assume that opioids affect SI more than cannabinoid.

Measuring Engagement: Affective and Social Cues in Interactive Media

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijholt, Antinus; Vinciarelli, Alessandro; Spink, A.J.; Grieco, F; Krips, O.E.; Loijens, L.W.S.; Noldus, L.P.J.J.; Zimmerman, P.H.

2012-01-01

The aim of this special session at Measuring Behavior 2012 is to look at engagement and ways to measure engagement in situations where users are not glued to their chair and keyboard, that is, in sensor-equipped environments that are able to perceive nonverbal interaction behavior. And, moreover, we

NMR spectral mapping of Lipid A molecular patterns affected by interaction with the innate immune receptor CD14

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albright, Seth; Agrawal, Prashansa; Jain, Nitin U.

2009-01-01

Soluble CD14 (sCD14) is a serum glycoprotein that binds to the Lipid A moiety of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) with high affinity as part of the innate immune response to bacterial endotoxins. In order to investigate structural interactions of Lipid A with sCD14, we have prepared an isotopically labeled form of a fully active and chemically defined endotoxin, Kdo 2 -Lipid A, which allowed us to carry out detailed NMR spectral mapping of this agonist ligand bound to sCD14 and identify for the first time structural regions that are strongly affected during complex formation with sCD14. These map to two adjacent areas comprising the lower portions of the sugar headgroup and upper half of the acyl chains I, III, and V, which are spatially proximal to the 1- and 4'-phosphate ends. Additionally, we have detected for the first time, presence of differential dynamic behavior for the affected resonances, suggesting a likely role for dynamics in the mechanism of Lipid A pattern recognition by sCD14.

(1S,1′S,2′R,4a'S,9a'S,9b'R-1′-Acetyloxy-2,4′-dioxo-2′,4′,4a',7′,8′,9′,9a',9b'-octahydro-1′H,2H-spiro[acenaphthylene-1,5′-pyrano[4,3-a]pyrrolizin]-2′-ylmethyl acetate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Santhiya

2013-11-01

Full Text Available In the title compound C26H25NO7, the mean plane through the lactone-substituted ring of the pyrrolizidine moiety forms dihedral angles of 78.46 (6 and 58.28 (8° with the acenaphthylene moiety and the sugar based-lactone ring, respectively. The sum of the angles at the the N atom of the pyrrolizidine ring (335.0° is in accordance with sp3 hybridization. Some atoms of the acetate group are disordered and were refined using a split model [occupancy ratio 0.673 (10:0.327 (10].

Light and noise pollution interact to disrupt interspecific interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

McMahon, Taegan A; Rohr, Jason R; Bernal, Ximena E

2017-05-01

Studies on the consequences of urbanization often examine the effects of light, noise, and heat pollution independently on isolated species providing a limited understanding of how these combined stressors affect species interactions. Here, we investigate how these factors interact to affect parasitic frog-biting midges (Corethrella spp.) and their túngara frog (Engystomops pustulosus) hosts. A survey of túngara frog calling sites revealed that frog abundance was not significantly correlated with urbanization, light, noise, or temperature. In contrast, frog-biting midges were sensitive to light pollution and noise pollution. Increased light intensity significantly reduced midge abundance at low noise levels. At high noise intensity, there were no midges regardless of light level. Two field experiments controlling light and noise levels to examine attraction of the midges to their host and their feeding behavior confirmed the causality of these field patterns. These findings demonstrate that both light and noise pollution disrupt this host-parasite interaction and highlight the importance of considering interactions among species and types of pollutants to accurately assess the impacts of urbanization on ecological communities. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Cross-scale interactions affect tree growth and intrinsic water use efficiency and highlight the importance of spatial context in managing forests under global change

Science.gov (United States)

Kenneth J. Ruzicka; Klaus J. Puettmann; J. Renée Brooks

2017-01-01

Summary1. We investigated the potential of cross-scale interactions to affect the outcome of density reduction in a large-scale silvicultural experiment to better understand options for managing forests under climate change. 2. We measured tree growth and intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) based on stable carbon isotopes (δ...

Characterization of Bars Induced by Interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inma Martinez-Valpuesta

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Whether the formation of bars is triggered by interactions or by internal processes has been discussed for many decades. In this work, we study differences between both mechanisms by means of numerical simulations. We relate our analysis to fly-by interactions in different mass groups or clusters according to the velocity of the encounters. We find that once the bar is created, the interaction does not much affect its evolution. We also find that bars can be triggered purely by a slow interaction. Those bars affected or triggered by interaction stay for a longer time in the slow regime, i.e., the corotation radius is more than 1.4 times the bar radius.

Pharmacokinetic interactions between glimepiride and rosuvastatin in healthy Korean subjects: does the SLCO1B1 or CYP2C9 genetic polymorphism affect these drug interactions?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim CO

2017-02-01

interactions between the two drugs; however, the exposure to glimepiride could be affected by rosuvastatin in the presence of the SLCO1B1 polymorphism. Keywords: glimepiride, rosuvastatin, pharmacokinetics, SLCO1B1, CYP2C9

Diketo modification of curcumin affects its interaction with human serum albumin

Science.gov (United States)

Shaikh, Shaukat Ali M.; Singh, Beena G.; Barik, Atanu; Ramani, Modukuri V.; Balaji, Neduri V.; Subbaraju, Gottumukkala V.; Naik, Devidas B.; Indira Priyadarsini, K.

2018-06-01

Curcumin isoxazole (CI) and Curcumin pyrazole (CP), the diketo modified derivatives of Curcumin (CU) are metabolically more stable and are being explored for pharmacological properties. One of the requirements in such activities is their interaction with circulatory proteins like human serum albumin (HSA). To understand this, the interactions of CI and CP with HSA have been investigated employing absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy and the results are compared with that of CU. The respective binding constants of CP, CI and CU with HSA were estimated to be 9.3 × 105, 8.4 × 105 and 2.5 × 105 M-1, which decreased with increasing salt concentration in the medium. The extent of decrease in the binding constant was the highest in CP followed by CI and CU. This revealed that along with hydrophobic interaction other binding modes like electrostatic interactions operate between CP/CI/CU with HSA. Fluorescence quenching studies of HSA with these compounds suggested that both static and dynamic quenching mechanisms operate, where the contribution of static quenching is higher for CP and CI than that for CU. From fluorescence resonance energy transfer studies, the binding site of CU, CI and CP was found to be in domain IIA of HSA. CU was found to bind in closer proximity with Trp214 as compared to CI and CP and the same was responsible for efficient energy transfer and the same was also established by fluorescence anisotropy measurements. Furthermore docking simulation complemented the experimental observation, where both electrostatic as well as hydrophobic interactions were indicated between HSA and CP, CI and CU. This study is useful in designing more stable CU derivatives having suitable binding properties with proteins like HSA.

Diketo modification of curcumin affects its interaction with human serum albumin.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaikh, Shaukat Ali M; Singh, Beena G; Barik, Atanu; Ramani, Modukuri V; Balaji, Neduri V; Subbaraju, Gottumukkala V; Naik, Devidas B; Indira Priyadarsini, K

2018-06-15

Curcumin isoxazole (CI) and Curcumin pyrazole (CP), the diketo modified derivatives of Curcumin (CU) are metabolically more stable and are being explored for pharmacological properties. One of the requirements in such activities is their interaction with circulatory proteins like human serum albumin (HSA). To understand this, the interactions of CI and CP with HSA have been investigated employing absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy and the results are compared with that of CU. The respective binding constants of CP, CI and CU with HSA were estimated to be 9.3×10 5 , 8.4×10 5 and 2.5×10 5 M -1 , which decreased with increasing salt concentration in the medium. The extent of decrease in the binding constant was the highest in CP followed by CI and CU. This revealed that along with hydrophobic interaction other binding modes like electrostatic interactions operate between CP/CI/CU with HSA. Fluorescence quenching studies of HSA with these compounds suggested that both static and dynamic quenching mechanisms operate, where the contribution of static quenching is higher for CP and CI than that for CU. From fluorescence resonance energy transfer studies, the binding site of CU, CI and CP was found to be in domain IIA of HSA. CU was found to bind in closer proximity with Trp214 as compared to CI and CP and the same was responsible for efficient energy transfer and the same was also established by fluorescence anisotropy measurements. Furthermore docking simulation complemented the experimental observation, where both electrostatic as well as hydrophobic interactions were indicated between HSA and CP, CI and CU. This study is useful in designing more stable CU derivatives having suitable binding properties with proteins like HSA. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exploration of Metaphorical and Contextual Affect Sensing in a Virtual Improvisational Drama

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Li

Real-time affect detection from open-ended text-based dialogue is challenging but essential for the building of effective intelligent user interfaces. In this paper, we report updated developments of an affect detection model from text, including affect detection from one particular type of metaphorical affective expression (cooking metaphor) and affect detection based on context. The overall affect detection model has been embedded in an intelligent conversational AI agent interacting with human users under loose scenarios. Evaluation for the updated affect detection component is also provided. Our work contributes to the conference themes on engagement and emotion, interactions in games, storytelling and narrative in education, and virtual characters/agents development.

[Development of technology for the substance of poly[3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) glyceric acid] from Symphytum asperum].

Science.gov (United States)

Gokadze, S I; Barbakadze, V V; Gogilashvili, L M; Amiranashvili, L Sh; Bakuridze, A Dzh

2013-05-01

Comfrey (Symphytum L.) is used to treat bone fractures, tendon injuries, ulcer lesions of gastrointestinal tract. It promotes wound healing, accelerates exudates resorption in lungs and reduces joints' inflammation. In Georgian folk medicine, herbal remedies from comfrey are used to accelerate regeneration processes. Comfrey contains hepatotoxic and carcinogenic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, besides the main active ingredient is poly [3 - (3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) glyceric acid] (PDPGA). The aim of present work was to develop a technology for the substance - poly [3-(3,4dihydroxyphenyl) glyceric acid] (PDPGA) from comfrey stems, free of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. During the investigation the optimal conditions for extraction and purification have been established: on the first stage pyrrolizidine alkaloids were removed from plant material by supercritical extraction; then the crude polysaccharides' fraction was obtained by water extraction (raw materials/extragent ratio was 1:15 at 90oC, the procedure was carried twice for 60 and 90 minutes). The isolation of the final product - PDPGA from crude polysaccharides' fraction was carried out by ultrafiltration on membrane filters. Based on the results of the investigation the technological scheme for the substance has been developed.

Legumes affect alpine tundra community composition via multiple biotic interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Soudzilovskaia, N.A.; Aksenova, A.A.; Makarov, M.I.; Onipchenko, V.G.; Logvinenko, O.A.; Braak, ter C.J.F.; Cornelissen, J.H.C.

2012-01-01

The soil engineering function of legumes in natural ecosystems is paramount but associated solely with soil nitrogen (N) subsidies, ignoring concomitant biotic interactions such as competitive or inhibitory effects and exchange between mycorrhizas and rhizobia. We aim to (1) disentangle legume

Plant genotypes affect aboveground and belowground herbivore interactions by changing chemical defense.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaoqiong; Guo, Wenfeng; Siemann, Evan; Wen, Yuanguang; Huang, Wei; Ding, Jianqing

2016-12-01

Spatially separated aboveground (AG) and belowground (BG) herbivores are closely linked through shared host plants, and both patterns of AG-BG interactions and plant responses may vary among plant genotypes. We subjected invasive (USA) and native (China) genotypes of tallow tree (Triadica sebifera) to herbivory by the AG specialist leaf-rolling weevil Heterapoderopsis bicallosicollis and/or the root-feeding larvae of flea beetle Bikasha collaris. We measured leaf damage and leaves rolled by weevils, quantified beetle survival, and analyzed flavonoid and tannin concentrations in leaves and roots. AG and BG herbivores formed negative feedbacks on both native and invasive genotypes. Leaf damage by weevils and the number of beetle larvae emerging as adults were higher on invasive genotypes. Beetles reduced weevil damage and weevils reduced beetle larval emergence more strongly for invasive genotypes. Invasive genotypes had lower leaf and root tannins than native genotypes. BG beetles decreased leaf tannins of native genotypes but increased root tannins of invasive genotypes. AG herbivory increased root flavonoids of invasive genotypes while BG herbivory decreased leaf flavonoids. Invasive genotypes had lower AG and BG herbivore resistance, and negative AG-BG herbivore feedbacks were much stronger for invasive genotypes. Lower tannin concentrations explained overall better AG and BG herbivore performances on invasive genotypes. However, changes in tannins and flavonoids affected AG and BG herbivores differently. These results suggest that divergent selection on chemical production in invasive plants may be critical in regulating herbivore performances and novel AG and BG herbivore communities in new environments.

Ecological interactions affecting population-level responses to chemical stress in Mesocyclops leuckarti.

Science.gov (United States)

Kulkarni, Devdutt; Hommen, Udo; Schäffer, Andreas; Preuss, Thomas G

2014-10-01

Higher tiers of ecological risk assessment (ERA) consider population and community-level endpoints. At the population level, the phenomenon of density dependence is one of the most important ecological processes that influence population dynamics. In this study, we investigated how different mechanisms of density dependence would influence population-level ERA of the cyclopoid copepod Mesocyclops leuckarti under toxicant exposure. We used a combined approach of laboratory experiments and individual-based modelling. An individual-based model was developed for M. leuckarti to simulate population dynamics under triphenyltin exposure based on individual-level ecological and toxicological data from laboratory experiments. The study primarily aimed to-(1) determine which life-cycle processes, based on feeding strategies, are most significant in determining density dependence (2) explore how these mechanisms of density dependence affect extrapolation from individual-level effects to the population level under toxicant exposure. Model simulations showed that cannibalism of nauplii that were already stressed by TPT exposure contributed to synergistic effects of biotic and abiotic factors and led to a twofold stress being exerted on the nauplii, thereby resulting in a higher population vulnerability compared to the scenario without cannibalism. Our results suggest that in population-level risk assessment, it is easy to underestimate toxicity unless underlying ecological interactions including mechanisms of population-level density regulation are considered. This study is an example of how a combined approach of experiments and mechanistic modelling can lead to a thorough understanding of ecological processes in ecotoxicology and enable a more realistic ERA. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transient emotional events and individual affective traits affect emotion recognition in a perceptual decision-making task.

Science.gov (United States)

Qiao-Tasserit, Emilie; Garcia Quesada, Maria; Antico, Lia; Bavelier, Daphne; Vuilleumier, Patrik; Pichon, Swann

2017-01-01

Both affective states and personality traits shape how we perceive the social world and interpret emotions. The literature on affective priming has mostly focused on brief influences of emotional stimuli and emotional states on perceptual and cognitive processes. Yet this approach does not fully capture more dynamic processes at the root of emotional states, with such states lingering beyond the duration of the inducing external stimuli. Our goal was to put in perspective three different types of affective states (induced affective states, more sustained mood states and affective traits such as depression and anxiety) and investigate how they may interact and influence emotion perception. Here, we hypothesized that absorption into positive and negative emotional episodes generate sustained affective states that outlast the episode period and bias the interpretation of facial expressions in a perceptual decision-making task. We also investigated how such effects are influenced by more sustained mood states and by individual affect traits (depression and anxiety) and whether they interact. Transient emotional states were induced using movie-clips, after which participants performed a forced-choice emotion classification task with morphed facial expressions ranging from fear to happiness. Using a psychometric approach, we show that negative (vs. neutral) clips increased participants' propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful during several minutes. In contrast, positive movies biased classification toward happiness only for those clips perceived as most absorbing. Negative mood, anxiety and depression had a stronger effect than transient states and increased the propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful. These results provide the first evidence that absorption and different temporal dimensions of emotions have a significant effect on how we perceive facial expressions.

Transient emotional events and individual affective traits affect emotion recognition in a perceptual decision-making task.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilie Qiao-Tasserit

Full Text Available Both affective states and personality traits shape how we perceive the social world and interpret emotions. The literature on affective priming has mostly focused on brief influences of emotional stimuli and emotional states on perceptual and cognitive processes. Yet this approach does not fully capture more dynamic processes at the root of emotional states, with such states lingering beyond the duration of the inducing external stimuli. Our goal was to put in perspective three different types of affective states (induced affective states, more sustained mood states and affective traits such as depression and anxiety and investigate how they may interact and influence emotion perception. Here, we hypothesized that absorption into positive and negative emotional episodes generate sustained affective states that outlast the episode period and bias the interpretation of facial expressions in a perceptual decision-making task. We also investigated how such effects are influenced by more sustained mood states and by individual affect traits (depression and anxiety and whether they interact. Transient emotional states were induced using movie-clips, after which participants performed a forced-choice emotion classification task with morphed facial expressions ranging from fear to happiness. Using a psychometric approach, we show that negative (vs. neutral clips increased participants' propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful during several minutes. In contrast, positive movies biased classification toward happiness only for those clips perceived as most absorbing. Negative mood, anxiety and depression had a stronger effect than transient states and increased the propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful. These results provide the first evidence that absorption and different temporal dimensions of emotions have a significant effect on how we perceive facial expressions.

Transient emotional events and individual affective traits affect emotion recognition in a perceptual decision-making task

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia Quesada, Maria; Antico, Lia; Bavelier, Daphne; Vuilleumier, Patrik; Pichon, Swann

2017-01-01

Both affective states and personality traits shape how we perceive the social world and interpret emotions. The literature on affective priming has mostly focused on brief influences of emotional stimuli and emotional states on perceptual and cognitive processes. Yet this approach does not fully capture more dynamic processes at the root of emotional states, with such states lingering beyond the duration of the inducing external stimuli. Our goal was to put in perspective three different types of affective states (induced affective states, more sustained mood states and affective traits such as depression and anxiety) and investigate how they may interact and influence emotion perception. Here, we hypothesized that absorption into positive and negative emotional episodes generate sustained affective states that outlast the episode period and bias the interpretation of facial expressions in a perceptual decision-making task. We also investigated how such effects are influenced by more sustained mood states and by individual affect traits (depression and anxiety) and whether they interact. Transient emotional states were induced using movie-clips, after which participants performed a forced-choice emotion classification task with morphed facial expressions ranging from fear to happiness. Using a psychometric approach, we show that negative (vs. neutral) clips increased participants’ propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful during several minutes. In contrast, positive movies biased classification toward happiness only for those clips perceived as most absorbing. Negative mood, anxiety and depression had a stronger effect than transient states and increased the propensity to classify ambiguous faces as fearful. These results provide the first evidence that absorption and different temporal dimensions of emotions have a significant effect on how we perceive facial expressions. PMID:28151976

Emotion modelling towards affective pathogenesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bas, James Le

2009-12-01

Objective: There is a need in psychiatry for models that integrate pathological states with normal systems. The interaction of arousal and emotion is the focus of an exploration of affective pathogenesis. Method: Given that the explicit causes of affective disorder remain nascent, methods of linking emotion and disorder are evaluated. Results: A network model of emotional families is presented, in which emotions exist as quantal gradients. Morbid emotional states are seen as the activation of distal emotion sites. The phenomenology of affective disorders is described with reference to this model. Recourse is made to non-linear dynamic theory. Conclusions: Metaphoric emotion models have face validity and may prove a useful heuristic.

Affect and Metaphor Sensing in Virtual Drama

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Zhang

2010-01-01

Full Text Available We report our developments on metaphor and affect sensing for several metaphorical language phenomena including affects as external entities metaphor, food metaphor, animal metaphor, size metaphor, and anger metaphor. The metaphor and affect sensing component has been embedded in a conversational intelligent agent interacting with human users under loose scenarios. Evaluation for the detection of several metaphorical language phenomena and affect is provided. Our paper contributes to the journal themes on believable virtual characters in real-time narrative environment, narrative in digital games and storytelling and educational gaming with social software.

Arsenic-Microbe-Mineral Interactions in Mining-Affected Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen A. Hudson-Edwards

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The toxic element arsenic (As occurs widely in solid and liquid mine wastes. Aqueous forms of arsenic are taken up in As-bearing sulfides, arsenides, sulfosalts, oxides, oxyhydroxides, Fe-oxides, -hydroxides, -oxyhydroxides and -sulfates, and Fe-, Ca-Fe- and other arsenates. Although a considerable body of research has demonstrated that microbes play a significant role in the precipitation and dissolution of these As-bearing minerals, and in the alteration of the redox state of As, in natural and simulated mining environments, the molecular-scale mechanisms of these interactions are still not well understood. Further research is required using traditional and novel mineralogical, spectroscopic and microbiological techniques to further advance this field, and to help design remediation schemes.

Personality and social skills in human-dog interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meyer, Iben Helene Coakley

developing a social tool set that makes it very successful in interacting and communicating with humans. Human evolution has similarly resulted in the development of complex social cognition in humans. This enables humans to form bonded relationships, besides pair-bonding, and it seems that humans are also...... of this thesis was to attain a better understanding of some of the factors related to the inter-action between humans and dogs. This aim was addressed by focusing on dog personality and hu-man social skills in relation to human-dog interaction. Two studies investigated dog personality and how it a) affects...... the relationship with the owner, and b) is affected by human breeding goals. Two studies investigated how human social skills affect the communication and interaction between hu-man and dog. As part of these studies it was also investigated how experience with dogs interacts with human social skills, perception...

Affective Decision Making in Insurance Markets

OpenAIRE

Anat Bracha

2004-01-01

This paper suggests incorporating affective considerations into decision making theory and insurance decision in particular. I describe a decision maker with two internal accounts - the rational account and the mental account. The rational account decides on insurance to maximize expected (perceived) utility, while the mental account chooses risk perceptions which then affect the perceived expected utility. The two accounts interact to reach a decision which is composed of both risk perceptio...

Interfacial modulation of urban affect

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Samson, Kristine

Urban culture can increasingly be understood as interface culture (Munster) in which urban design, cultural institutions and architecture increasingly operate as affective interfaces distributing and mediating human perception, consumption and social encounters. As noted by Amin and Thrift (2002......, Massey 2006), they also exclude in depth social and human interaction. Through analysis of three examples of urban affective interfaces (The High Line in New York, Superkilen in Copenhagen and Stålsat By, Frederiksværk, the paper examines how affective urban interfaces modulate and mediate urban...... environments as bodily and sensorial experiences. It asks what is mediated through the interface – whether the. It also asks, what is excluded when urban environments become affective interfaces in the global networked city. Whereas urban interface collect and distribute the bodily and sensible in relational...

[The influence of affect on satisfaction with conversations and interpersonal impressions from the perspective of dyadic affective combinations].

Science.gov (United States)

Ken, Fujiwara; Daibo, Ikuo

2013-12-01

This study examined the influence of affect on interpersonal relationships in a dyadic communication context. The combination of speakers' affective states was considered, as compared to previous studies which considered only the individual's affective state. The independent variables, in a between-subjects design, were affective condition (positive vs. negative) and affective combination (similar vs. dissimilar). Participants (N = 86) took a test on creative thinking and were given false feedback. Then they had a 6-minute conversation and answered questions about their satisfaction with the conversation and their impressions of their partner. Results showed that the two-factor interactions were significant for satisfaction with the conversation and interpersonal impressions (social desirability) of the partner. The scores for these variables in the positive affect condition were higher than in the negative affect condition only when the affective combination was dissimilar. These results show that individual's affect could not predict conversational outcomes. The results were discussed in terms of incorrect inferences about the partner's affective state and imbalanced conversation activity.

Can role-play with interactive simulations enhance climate change knowledge, affect and intent to act?

Science.gov (United States)

Rooney-varga, J. N.; Sterman, J.; Fracassi, E. P.; Franck, T.; Kapmeier, F.; Kurker, V.; Jones, A.; Rath, K.

2017-12-01

The strong scientific consensus about the reality and risks of anthropogenic climate change stands in stark contrast to widespread confusion and complacency among the public. Many efforts to close that gap, grounded in the information deficit model of risk communication, provide scientific information on climate change through reports and presentations. However, research shows that showing people research does not work: the gap between scientific and public understanding of climate change remains wide. Tools that are rigorously grounded in the science and motivate action on climate change are urgently needed. Here we assess the impact of one such tool, an interactive, role-play simulation, World Climate. Participants take the roles of delegates to the UN climate negotiations and are challenged to create an agreement limiting warming to no more than 2°C. The C-ROADS climate simulation model then provides participants with immediate feedback about the expected impacts of their decisions. Participants use C-ROADS to explore the climate system and use the results to refine their negotiating positions, learning about climate change while experiencing the social dynamics of negotiations and decision-making. Pre- and post-survey results from 21 sessions in eight nations showed significant gains in participants' climate change knowledge, affective engagement, intent to take action, and desire to learn. Contrary to the deficit model, gains in participants' desire to learn more and intention to act were associated with gains in affective engagement, particularly feelings of urgency and hope, but not climate knowledge. Gains were just as strong among participants who oppose government regulation, suggesting the simulation's potential to reach across political divides. Results indicate that simulations like World Climate offer a climate change communication tool that enables people to learn and feel for themselves, which together have the potential to motivate action informed

Shadow Affect in Urban Digital (Post Screen) Art

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toft, Tanya Søndergaard

2014-01-01

The paper considers an affective turn in artistic practices with interactive urban digital screen-based art that evokes a behavioral response in the audience, which I propose as a symptom of the post screen. I propose the affective experience as a mode of exploring presence in the artwork through...

Mind Invasion: Situated Affectivity and the Corporate Life Hack.

Science.gov (United States)

Slaby, Jan

2016-01-01

In view of the philosophical problems that vex the debate on situated affectivity, it can seem wise to focus on simple cases. Accordingly, theorists often single out scenarios in which an individual employs a device in order to enhance their emotional experience, or to achieve new kinds of experience altogether, such as playing an instrument, going to the movies, or sporting a fancy handbag. I argue that this narrow focus on cases that fit a "user/resource model" tends to channel attention away from more complex and also more problematic instances of situated affectivity. Among these are scenarios in which a social domain draws individuals into certain modes of affective interaction, often by way of attunement and habituation to affective styles and interaction patterns that are normative in the domain in question. This can lead to a phenomenon that is not so much "mind extension" than "mind invasion": affectivity is dynamically framed and modulated from without, often contrary to the prior orientations of the individuals in question. As an example, I discuss affective patterns prevalent in today's corporate workplace. I claim that workplace affect sometimes contributes to what is effectively a "hack" of employees' subjectivity.

Dynamic conformations of nucleophosmin (NPM1 at a key monomer-monomer interface affect oligomer stability and interactions with granzyme B.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei D Duan-Porter

Full Text Available Nucleophosmin (NPM1 is an abundant, nucleolar tumor antigen with important roles in cell proliferation and putative contributions to oncogenesis. Wild-type NPM1 forms pentameric oligomers through interactions at the amino-terminal core domain. A truncated form of NPM1 found in some hepatocellular carcinoma tissue formed an unusually stable oligomer and showed increased susceptibility to cleavage by granzyme B. Initiation of translation at the seventh methionine generated a protein (M7-NPM that shared all these properties. We used deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (DXMS to perform a detailed structural analysis of wild-type NPM1 and M7-NPM, and found dynamic conformational shifts or local "unfolding" at a specific monomer-monomer interface which included the β-hairpin "latch." We tested the importance of interactions at the β-hairpin "latch" by replacing a conserved tyrosine in the middle of the β-hairpin loop with glutamic acid, generating Y67E-NPM. Y67E-NPM did not form stable oligomers and further, prevented wild-type NPM1 oligomerization in a dominant-negative fashion, supporting the critical role of the β-hairpin "latch" in monomer-monomer interactions. Also, we show preferential cleavage by granzyme B at one of two available aspartates (either D161 or D122 in M7-NPM and Y67E-NPM, whereas wild-type NPM1 was cleaved at both sites. Thus, we observed a correlation between the propensity to form oligomers and granzyme B cleavage site selection in nucleophosmin proteins, suggesting that a small change at an important monomer-monomer interface can affect conformational shifts and impact protein-protein interactions.

Media Facades beyond Interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fritsch, Jonas

2008-01-01

As part of a the research project Digital Urban Living [www.digitalurbanliving.dk], we have taken part in the design of two large-scale installations that employ interactive technologies to facilitate participation and foster social interactions in public, urban settings. We present the two cases......, Aarhus by Light and Projected Poetry, and discuss the future trajectory of our work in this field, as well as some of our findings regarding the challenges of designing large-scale public interactive installations. In doing so, we specifically highlight the possibilities in relation to designing...... for affective experience and engaging interaction that advocate for a long-term interactive experience....

Affective Maps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Salovaara-Moring, Inka

. In particular, mapping environmental damage, endangered species, and human made disasters has become one of the focal point of affective knowledge production. These ‘more-than-humangeographies’ practices include notions of species, space and territory, and movement towards a new political ecology. This type...... of digital cartographies has been highlighted as the ‘processual turn’ in critical cartography, whereas in related computational journalism it can be seen as an interactive and iterative process of mapping complex and fragile ecological developments. This paper looks at computer-assisted cartography as part...

"Prejudiced" behavior without prejudice? Beliefs about the malleability of prejudice affect interracial interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, Priyanka B; Dweck, Carol S; Pauker, Kristin

2012-09-01

Prejudiced behavior is typically seen as emanating from prejudiced attitudes. Eight studies showed that majority-group members' beliefs about prejudice can create seemingly "prejudiced" behaviors above and beyond prejudice measured explicitly (Study 1b) and implicitly (Study 2). Those who believed prejudice was relatively fixed, rather than malleable, were less interested in interracial interactions (Studies 1a-1d), race- or diversity-related activities (Study 1a), and activities to reduce their prejudice (Study 3). They were also more uncomfortable in interracial, but not same-race, interactions (Study 2). Study 4 manipulated beliefs about prejudice and found that a fixed belief, by heightening concerns about revealing prejudice to oneself and others, depressed interest in interracial interactions. Further, though Whites who were taught a fixed belief were more anxious and unfriendly in an interaction with a Black compared with a White individual, Whites who were taught a malleable belief were not (Study 5). Implications for reducing prejudice and improving intergroup relations are discussed.

Withdrawal from chronic exposure to amphetamine, but not nicotine, leads to an immediate and enduring deficit in motivated behavior without affecting social interaction in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Der-Avakian, Andre; Markou, Athina

2010-07-01

Psychostimulant withdrawal leads to depressive symptoms, such as anhedonia and social dysfunction. We determined the effects of withdrawal from chronic exposure to nicotine (9 mg/kg/day salt, 28 days) or amphetamine (10 mg/kg/day salt, 7 days) on the motivated response for a sucrose reward and on social interaction in rats. Both nicotine and amphetamine exposure increased the motivated response for sucrose. However, only spontaneous amphetamine withdrawal led to an immediate and persistent decrease in motivated behavior, which was not correlated with body weight loss. Social interaction was not affected during withdrawal from either drug. These results indicate that withdrawal from chronic amphetamine exposure leads to an immediate and enduring anhedonic state.

Multiscale Study of Currents Affected by Topography

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-30

1 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. Multiscale Study of Currents Affected by Topography ...the effects of topography on the ocean general and regional circulation with a focus on the wide range of scales of interactions. The small-scale...details of the topography and the waves, eddies, drag, and turbulence it generates (at spatial scales ranging from meters to mesoscale) interact in the

Network Diversity and Affect Dynamics: The Role of Personality Traits.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aamena Alshamsi

Full Text Available People divide their time unequally among their social contacts due to time constraints and varying strength of relationships. It was found that high diversity of social communication, dividing time more evenly among social contacts, is correlated with economic well-being both at macro and micro levels. Besides economic well-being, it is not clear how the diversity of social communication is also associated with the two components of individuals' subjective well-being, positive and negative affect. Specifically, positive affect and negative affect are two independent dimensions representing the experience (feeling of emotions. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between the daily diversity of social communication and dynamic affect states that people experience in their daily lives. We collected two high-resolution datasets that capture affect scores via daily experience sampling surveys and social interaction through wearable sensing technologies: sociometric badges for face-to-face interaction and smart phones for mobile phone calls. We found that communication diversity correlates with desirable affect states--e.g. an increase in the positive affect state or a decrease in the negative affect state--for some personality types, but correlates with undesirable affect states for others. For example, diversity in phone calls is experienced as good by introverts, but bad by extroverts; diversity in face-to-face interaction is experienced as good by people who tend to be positive by nature (trait but bad for people who tend to be not positive by nature. More broadly, the moderating effect of personality type on the relationship between diversity and affect was detected without any knowledge of the type of social tie or the content of communication. This provides further support for the power of unobtrusive sensing in understanding social dynamics, and in measuring the effect of potential interventions designed to improve well-being.

Network Diversity and Affect Dynamics: The Role of Personality Traits

Science.gov (United States)

Alshamsi, Aamena; Pianesi, Fabio; Lepri, Bruno; Pentland, Alex; Rahwan, Iyad

2016-01-01

People divide their time unequally among their social contacts due to time constraints and varying strength of relationships. It was found that high diversity of social communication, dividing time more evenly among social contacts, is correlated with economic well-being both at macro and micro levels. Besides economic well-being, it is not clear how the diversity of social communication is also associated with the two components of individuals’ subjective well-being, positive and negative affect. Specifically, positive affect and negative affect are two independent dimensions representing the experience (feeling) of emotions. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between the daily diversity of social communication and dynamic affect states that people experience in their daily lives. We collected two high-resolution datasets that capture affect scores via daily experience sampling surveys and social interaction through wearable sensing technologies: sociometric badges for face-to-face interaction and smart phones for mobile phone calls. We found that communication diversity correlates with desirable affect states–e.g. an increase in the positive affect state or a decrease in the negative affect state–for some personality types, but correlates with undesirable affect states for others. For example, diversity in phone calls is experienced as good by introverts, but bad by extroverts; diversity in face-to-face interaction is experienced as good by people who tend to be positive by nature (trait) but bad for people who tend to be not positive by nature. More broadly, the moderating effect of personality type on the relationship between diversity and affect was detected without any knowledge of the type of social tie or the content of communication. This provides further support for the power of unobtrusive sensing in understanding social dynamics, and in measuring the effect of potential interventions designed to improve well-being. PMID:27035904

Network Diversity and Affect Dynamics: The Role of Personality Traits.

Science.gov (United States)

Alshamsi, Aamena; Pianesi, Fabio; Lepri, Bruno; Pentland, Alex; Rahwan, Iyad

2016-01-01

People divide their time unequally among their social contacts due to time constraints and varying strength of relationships. It was found that high diversity of social communication, dividing time more evenly among social contacts, is correlated with economic well-being both at macro and micro levels. Besides economic well-being, it is not clear how the diversity of social communication is also associated with the two components of individuals' subjective well-being, positive and negative affect. Specifically, positive affect and negative affect are two independent dimensions representing the experience (feeling) of emotions. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between the daily diversity of social communication and dynamic affect states that people experience in their daily lives. We collected two high-resolution datasets that capture affect scores via daily experience sampling surveys and social interaction through wearable sensing technologies: sociometric badges for face-to-face interaction and smart phones for mobile phone calls. We found that communication diversity correlates with desirable affect states--e.g. an increase in the positive affect state or a decrease in the negative affect state--for some personality types, but correlates with undesirable affect states for others. For example, diversity in phone calls is experienced as good by introverts, but bad by extroverts; diversity in face-to-face interaction is experienced as good by people who tend to be positive by nature (trait) but bad for people who tend to be not positive by nature. More broadly, the moderating effect of personality type on the relationship between diversity and affect was detected without any knowledge of the type of social tie or the content of communication. This provides further support for the power of unobtrusive sensing in understanding social dynamics, and in measuring the effect of potential interventions designed to improve well-being.

Interactions in multispecies biofilms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Burmølle, Mette; Ren, Dawei; Bjarnsholt, Thomas

2014-01-01

The recent focus on complex bacterial communities has led to the recognition of interactions across species boundaries. This is particularly pronounced in multispecies biofilms, where synergistic interactions impact the bacterial distribution and overall biomass produced. Importantly, in a number...... of settings, the interactions in a multispecies biofilm affect its overall function, physiology, or surroundings, by resulting in enhanced resistance, virulence, or degradation of pollutants, which is of significant importance to human health and activities. The underlying mechanisms causing these synergistic...

Affective reading and strategic hermeneutics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riccardo Frangi

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This paper deals mainly with three issues: how people interact with linguistically codified messages in everyday life? How this affects people’s behaviour? And how does this thing relates to practicing philosophy? These three issues are faced with the help two concepts: “affective reading” regards the first two of them, while “strategic hermeneutics” regards the last one. This paper thus starts with the analysis of the meaning of affective reading and tries to show how this way of reading is practiced on everyday basis to organize our actions. Then the focus turns to philosophical applications of the affective reading to show how much it affects our discipline. Strategic hermeneutics takes here its place on the stage. Indeed, this concept is the application of affective reading as a philosophical tool and method. Hence, it’s shown how to use this kind of tool with a theoretical analysis and an example given. At the end of the paper I’ve tried to display how this philosophical method affects the foundation and development of the philosopher’s ego under the prospective of Lacan’s theory of Oedipus’ complex.

Affect and subsequent physical activity: An ambulatory assessment study examining the affect-activity association in a real-life context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christina eNiermann

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Traditionally, cognitive, motivational and volitional determinants have been used to explain and predict health behaviors such as physical activity. Recently, the role of affect in influencing and regulating health behaviors received more attention. Affects as internal cues may automatically activate unconscious processes of behavior regulation. The aim of our study was to examine the association between affect and physical activity in daily life. In addition, we studied the influence of the habit of being physically active on this relationship.An ambulatory assessment study in 89 persons (33.7% male, 25 to 65 years, M=45.2, SD=8.1 was conducted. Affect was assessed in the afternoon on 5 weekdays using smartphones. Physical activity was measured continuously objectively using accelerometers and subjectively using smartphones in the evening. Habit strength was assessed at the beginning of the diary period. The outcomes were objectively and subjectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA performed after work. Multilevel regression models were used to analyze the association between affect and after work MVPA. In addition, the cross-level interaction of habit strength and affect on after work MVPA was tested.Positive affect was positively related to objectively measured and self-reported after work MVPA: the greater the positive affect the more time persons subsequently spent on MVPA. An inverse relationship was found for negative affect: the greater the negative affect the less time persons spent on MVPA. The cross-level interaction effect was significant only for objectively measured MVPA. A strong habit seems to strengthen both the positive influence of positive affect and the negative influence of negative affect.The results of this study confirm previous results and indicate that affect plays an important role for the regulation of physical activity behavior in daily life. The results for positive affect were consistent

Affect and Subsequent Physical Activity: An Ambulatory Assessment Study Examining the Affect-Activity Association in a Real-Life Context.

Science.gov (United States)

Niermann, Christina Y N; Herrmann, Christian; von Haaren, Birte; van Kann, Dave; Woll, Alexander

2016-01-01

Traditionally, cognitive, motivational, and volitional determinants have been used to explain and predict health behaviors such as physical activity. Recently, the role of affect in influencing and regulating health behaviors received more attention. Affects as internal cues may automatically activate unconscious processes of behavior regulation. The aim of our study was to examine the association between affect and physical activity in daily life. In addition, we studied the influence of the habit of being physically active on this relationship. An ambulatory assessment study in 89 persons (33.7% male, 25 to 65 years, M = 45.2, SD = 8.1) was conducted. Affect was assessed in the afternoon on 5 weekdays using smartphones. Physical activity was measured continuously objectively using accelerometers and subjectively using smartphones in the evening. Habit strength was assessed at the beginning of the diary period. The outcomes were objectively and subjectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) performed after work. Multilevel regression models were used to analyze the association between affect and after work MVPA. In addition, the cross-level interaction of habit strength and affect on after work MVPA was tested. Positive affect was positively related to objectively measured and self-reported after work MVPA: the greater the positive affect the more time persons subsequently spent on MVPA. An inverse relationship was found for negative affect: the greater the negative affect the less time persons spent on MVPA. The cross-level interaction effect was significant only for objectively measured MVPA. A strong habit seems to strengthen both the positive influence of positive affect and the negative influence of negative affect. The results of this study confirm previous results and indicate that affect plays an important role for the regulation of physical activity behavior in daily life. The results for positive affect were consistent. However, in

Plant neighbour identity matters to belowground interactions under controlled conditions.

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Armas, Cristina; Pugnaire, Francisco Ignacio

2011-01-01

Root competition is an almost ubiquitous feature of plant communities with profound effects on their structure and composition. Far beyond the traditional view that plants interact mainly through resource depletion (exploitation competition), roots are known to be able to interact with their environment using a large variety of mechanisms that may inhibit or enhance access of other roots to the resource or affect plant growth (contest interactions). However, an extensive analysis on how these contest root interactions may affect species interaction abilities is almost lacking. In a common garden experiment with ten perennial plant species we forced pairs of plants of the same or different species to overlap their roots and analyzed how belowground contest interactions affected plant performance, biomass allocation patterns, and competitive abilities under abundant resource supply. Our results showed that net interaction outcome ranged from negative to positive, affecting total plant mass and allocation patterns. A species could be a strong competitor against one species, weaker against another one, and even facilitator to a third species. This leads to sets of species where competitive hierarchies may be clear but also to groups where such rankings are not, suggesting that intransitive root interactions may be crucial for species coexistence. The outcome of belowground contest interactions is strongly dependent on neighbours' identity. In natural plant communities this conditional outcome may hypothetically help species to interact in non-hierarchical and intransitive networks, which in turn might promote coexistence.

Dynamic artificial neural networks with affective systems.

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Catherine D Schuman

Full Text Available Artificial neural networks (ANNs are processors that are trained to perform particular tasks. We couple a computational ANN with a simulated affective system in order to explore the interaction between the two. In particular, we design a simple affective system that adjusts the threshold values in the neurons of our ANN. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that this simple affective system can control the firing rate of the ensemble of neurons in the ANN, as well as to explore the coupling between the affective system and the processes of long term potentiation (LTP and long term depression (LTD, and the effect of the parameters of the affective system on its performance. We apply our networks with affective systems to a simple pole balancing example and briefly discuss the effect of affective systems on network performance.

Mind Invasion: Situated Affectivity and the Corporate Life Hack

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Jan eSlaby

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In view of the philosophical problems that vex the debate on situated affectivity, it can seem wise to focus on simple cases. Accordingly, theorists often single out scenarios in which an individual employs a device in order to enhance their emotional experience, or to achieve new kinds of experience altogether, such as playing an instrument, going to the movies or sporting a fancy handbag. I argue that this narrow focus on cases that fit a ‘user/resource model’ tends to channel attention away from more complex and also more problematic instances of situated affectivity. Among these are scenarios in which a social domain draws individuals into certain modes of affective interaction, often by way of attunement and habituation to affective styles and interaction patterns that are normative in the domain in question. This can lead to a phenomenon that is not so much ‘mind extension’ than ‘mind invasion’: affectivity is dynamically framed and modulated from without, often contrary to the prior orientations of the individuals in question. As an example, I discuss affective patterns prevalent in today’s corporate workplace. I claim that workplace affect sometimes contributes to what is effectively a ‘hack’ of employees’ subjectivity.

How the perspectives of nursing assistants and frail elderly residents on their daily interaction in nursing homes affect their interaction: a qualitative study.

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Lung, Chi-Chi; Liu, Justina Yat Wa

2016-01-14

Good support from and positive relations with institutional staff can enhance the psychosocial wellbeing of residents admitted to a nursing home. Nursing assistants (NAs) interact most frequently with residents and play an important role in developing good rapport with them. Most studies have described the daily interactions between NAs and residents as task oriented. Only few have attempted to explore the perspectives of NAs and residents on their daily interactions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the types of daily interactions perceived by NAs and residents. We also investigated those intentions/beliefs held by NAs and residents that might direct their interactive behaviors. A descriptive, exploratory, qualitative approach was used to explore the perspectives of 18 NAs (mean age: 51) and 15 residents (mean age: 84.4) on their daily interactions. Unstructured in-depth interviews were used to collect data. All of the interviews were conducted from July to December 2013. The collected data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed by content analysis. Three types of interactions were found that described the NAs' and residents' perspectives on their daily interactions: (1) physiologically-oriented daily interactions; (2) cordial interactions intended to maintain a harmonious atmosphere; and (3) reciprocal social interactions intended to develop closer rapport. One or more themes reflecting the participants' intentions or beliefs were identified from each group to support each type of interaction. An over-emphasis on the formal caring relationship and over-concern about maintaining a harmonious atmosphere contributed to a superficial and distant relationship between the two parties. Building close rapport takes time and involves repeated reciprocal social interactions. The findings showed that with good intentions to establish closer rapport, both NAs and residents did favors for each other. All of those favors were easily integrated in the care

Intake of Mediterranean foods associated with positive affect and low negative affect.

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Ford, Patricia A; Jaceldo-Siegl, Karen; Lee, Jerry W; Youngberg, Wes; Tonstad, Serena

2013-02-01

To examine associations between consumption of foods typical of Mediterranean versus Western diets with positive and negative affect. Nutrients influence mental states yet few studies have examined whether foods protective or deleterious for cardiovascular disease affect mood. Participants were 9255 Adventist church attendees in North America who completed a validated food frequency questionnaire in 2002-6. Scores for affect were obtained from the positive and negative affect schedule questionnaire in 2006-7. Multiple linear regression models controlled for age, gender, ethnicity, BMI, education, sleep, sleep squared (to account for high or low amounts), exercise, total caloric intake, alcohol and time between the questionnaires. Intake of vegetables (β=0.124 [95% CI 0.101, 0.147]), fruit (β=0.066 [95% CI 0.046, 0.085]), olive oil (β=0.070 [95% CI 0.029, 0.111]), nuts (β=0.054 [95% CI 0.026, 0.082]), and legumes (β=0.055 [95% CI 0.032, 0.077]) were associated with positive affect while sweets/desserts (β=-0.066 [95% CI -0.086, -0.046]), soda (β=-0.025 [95% CI -0.037, -0.013]) and fast food frequency (β=-0.046 [95% CI -0.062, -0.030]) were inversely associated with positive affect. Intake of sweets/desserts (β=0.058 [95% CI 0.037, 0.078]) and fast food frequency (β=0.052 [95% CI 0.036, 0.068]) were associated with negative affect while intake of vegetables (β=-0.076 [95% CI -0.099, -0.052]), fruit (β=-0.033 [95% CI -0.053, -0.014]) and nuts (β=-0.088 [95% CI -0.116, -0.060]) were inversely associated with negative affect. Gender interacted with red meat intake (Pnegative affect in females only. Foods typical of Mediterranean diets were associated with positive affect as well as lower negative affect while Western foods were associated with low positive affect in general and negative affect in women. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Laboratory incubation experiments assessing the factor interactions affecting urine-derived nitrous oxide emissions from spatially and temporally variable upland pastures

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Charteris, Alice; Loick, Nadine; Marsden, Karina; Chadwick, Dave; Whelan, Mick; Rao Ravella, Sreenivas; Mead, Andrew; Cardenas, Laura

2017-04-01

Urine patches deposited to soils by grazing animals represent hot-spots of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (Hargreaves et al., 2015), a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG) and precursor of ozone depletion in the stratosphere. Urine N2O emissions are produced via nitrification of ureolysis-derived ammonium (NH4+) and/or subsequent nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate (NO3-) denitrification (Kool et al., 2006). The dominant process and the N2O fluxes generated depend on interactions between urine characteristics (e.g. nitrogen [N] concentration and volume), soil characteristics (e.g. carbon [C] availability and pH) and preceding and prevailing environmental conditions (e.g. soil moisture and temperature; Bergstermann et al., 2011; Butterbach-Bahl et al., 2013; Dijkstra et al., 2013). The spatial and temporal variability of these interactions in grazing systems is potentially large and greatly increases the uncertainty associated with N2O emission estimates from such systems. In particular, the contribution of extensively managed upland agroecosystems, which occupy ca. 5.5 million hectares in the UK and provide the bulk of land for sheep farming (Pollott & Stone, 2004), to UK GHG emissions is poorly defined. Improving understanding of the interactions between the wide range of factors affecting urine-derived N2O production and emission from pasture soils and considering this in the context of the spatial and temporal variability of the grazing environment could therefore be extremely valuable in improving the accuracy of N2O emission estimates from such systems. The factorial laboratory incubation experiments presented have been designed to assess the interactive effects of factors such as urine N concentration, volume and soil moisture affecting soil N2O (and nitric oxide [NO], nitrogen gas [N2] and carbon dioxide [CO2]) production and emissions (García-Marco et al., 2014) using the state-of-the-art Denitrification Incubation System (DENIS). This work forms part of a wider project

Motherese, affect, and vocabulary development: dyadic communicative interactions in infants and toddlers.

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Dave, Shruti; Mastergeorge, Ann M; Olswang, Lesley B

2018-07-01

Responsive parental communication during an infant's first year has been positively associated with later language outcomes. This study explores responsivity in mother-infant communication by modeling how change in guiding language between 7 and 11 months influences toddler vocabulary development. In a group of 32 mother-child dyads, change in early maternal guiding language positively predicted child language outcomes measured at 18 and 24 months. In contrast, a number of other linguistic variables - including total utterances and non-guiding language - did not correlate with toddler vocabulary development, suggesting a critical role of responsive change in infant-directed communication. We further assessed whether maternal affect during early communication influenced toddler vocabulary outcomes, finding that dominant affect during early mother-infant communications correlated to lower child language outcomes. These findings provide evidence that responsive parenting should not only be assessed longitudinally, but unique contributions of language and affect should also be concurrently considered in future study.

Factors affecting dignity of patients with multiple sclerosis.

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Sharifi, Simin; Borhani, Fariba; Abbaszadeh, Abbas

2016-12-01

MS is one of the most common chronic diseases of the nervous system. Apart from disease progression, other complications such as unemployment, separation and divorce could potentially threat patients' dignity. Most of the previous studies have been done of maintaining patients' dignity in interaction with healthcare team, but studies on affecting factors of dignity in chronic patients in the society and in interaction with usual people are scarce. We aimed to investigate factors affecting dignity of Iranian patients with MS in daily living and in interaction of them with the society. In this qualitative study, 13 patients with multiple sclerosis were chosen by purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted until data saturation. The study was done in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. Factors affecting dignity were classified as 'personal factors' and 'social factors'. Personal factors consist of the following subcategories: patients' communication with self, patients' knowledge, patients' values and beliefs and patients' resources. Social factors include others' communication with patients, social knowledge, social values and beliefs and social resources. Multiple personal and social factors interfere in perceived patient dignity. In fact, interaction between personal and social factors can be influential in final perceived dignity. By focusing on whole aspects of the patients' lives, we can identify dignity-promoting or dignity-threatening factors and help patients maintain their dignity by taking appropriate measures for moderating threatening factors and improving dignity enhancing ones. © 2016 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Ovarian development in a primitively eusocial wasp: social interactions affect behaviorally dominant and subordinate wasps in opposite directions relative to solitary females.

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Shukla, Shantanu; Pareek, Vidhi; Gadagkar, Raghavendra

2014-07-01

In many primitively eusocial wasp species new nests are founded either by a single female or by a small group of females. In the single foundress nests, the lone female develops her ovaries, lays eggs as well as tends her brood. In multiple foundress nests social interactions, especially dominance-subordinate interactions, result in only one 'dominant' female developing her ovaries and laying eggs. Ovaries of the remaining 'subordinate' cofoundresses remain suppressed and these individuals function as workers and tend the dominant's brood. Using the tropical, primitively eusocial polistine wasp Ropalidia marginata and by comparing wasps held in isolation and those kept as pairs in the laboratory, we demonstrate that social interactions affect ovarian development of dominant and subordinate wasps among the pairs in opposite directions, suppressing the ovaries of the subordinate member of the pair below that of solitary wasps and boosting the ovaries of dominant member of the pair above that of solitary females. In addition to being of physiological interest, such mirror image effects of aggression on the ovaries of the aggressors and their victims, suggest yet another mechanism by which subordinates can enhance their indirect fitness and facilitate the evolution of worker behavior by kin selection. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interactive uncertainty reduction strategies and verbal affection in computer-mediated communication

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Antheunis, M.L.; Schouten, A.P.; Valkenburg, P.M.; Peter, J.

2012-01-01

The goal of this study was to investigate the language-based strategies that computer-mediated communication (CMC) users employ to reduce uncertainty in the absence of nonverbal cues. Specifically, this study investigated the prevalence of three interactive uncertainty reduction strategies (i.e.,

The fading affect bias: Effects of social disclosure to an interactive versus non-responsive listener.

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Muir, Kate; Brown, Charity; Madill, Anna

2015-01-01

The intensity of negative emotions associated with event memories fades to a greater extent over time than positive emotions (fading affect bias or FAB). In this study, we examine how the presence and behaviour of a listener during social disclosure influences the FAB and the linguistic characteristics of event narratives. Participants recalled pleasant and unpleasant events and rated each event for its emotional intensity. Recalled events were then allocated to one of three experimental conditions: no disclosure, private verbal disclosure without a listener or social disclosure to another participant whose behaviour was experimentally manipulated. Participants again rated the emotional intensity of the events immediately after these manipulations and after a one-week delay. Verbal disclosure alone was not sufficient to enhance the FAB. However, social disclosure increased positive emotional intensity, regardless of the behaviour of the listener. Whilst talking to an interactive listener led unpleasant event memories to decrease in emotional intensity, talking to a non-responsive listener increased their negative emotional intensity. Further, listener behaviour influenced the extent of emotional expression in written event narratives. This study provides original evidence that listener behaviour during social disclosure is an important factor in the effects of social disclosure in the FAB.

Interaction of gold nanoparticles and nickel(II) sulfate affects dendritic cell maturation.

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Deville, Sarah; Baré, Birgit; Piella, Jordi; Tirez, Kristof; Hoet, Peter; Monopoli, Marco P; Dawson, Kenneth A; Puntes, Victor F; Nelissen, Inge

2016-12-01

Despite many investigations have focused on the pristine toxicity of gold nanoparticles (GNPs), little is known about the outcome of co-exposure and interaction of GNPs with heavy metals which can possibly detoxify or potentiate them. Here, the combined exposure of nickel (II) sulfate (NiSO 4 ) and GNPs on the maturation response of dendritic cells (DCs) was explored. Exposure to GNPs or NiSO 4 separately induced cell activation. When cells were exposed to a mixture of both, however, the observed cell activation pattern indicated a competitive rather than an additive effect of both inducers with levels similar to those induced by NiSO 4 alone. Quantification of the GNP uptake by DCs demonstrated a significant decrease in intracellular gold content during co-incubation with NiSO 4 . An extensive physiochemical characterization was performed to determine the interaction between GNPs and NiSO 4 in the complex physiological media using nanoparticle tracking analyses, disc centrifugation, UV-visible spectroscopy, ICP-MS analyses, zeta potential measurements, electron microscopy, and proteomics. Although GNPs and NiSO 4 did not directly interact with each other, the presence of NiSO 4 in the physiological media resulted in changes in GNPs' charge and their associated protein corona (content and composition), which may contribute to a decreased cellular uptake of GNPs and sustaining the nickel-induced DC maturation. The presented results provide new insights in the interaction of heavy metals and NPs in complex physiological media. Moreover, this study highlights the necessity of mixture toxicology, since these combined exposures are highly relevant for human subjection to NPs and risk assessment of nanomaterials.

Office layout affecting privacy, interaction, and acoustic quality in LEED-certified buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Young S. [School of Planning, Design, and Construction, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823 (United States)

2010-07-15

The study investigated differences in worker satisfaction and perceived job performance regarding privacy, interaction, and acoustic quality issues in personal workspaces between five office types in LEED-certified buildings. It finds that people in high cubicles showed significantly lower satisfaction and job performance in relation to visual privacy and interaction with co-workers than both enclosed private and enclosed shared office types. They also showed significantly lower satisfaction with noise level and sound privacy and lower job performance perceived by acoustic quality than enclosed private, enclosed shared, and bullpen types. The bullpen type, open-plan office without partitions, presented significantly higher satisfaction with noise level and higher performance perceived by acoustic quality than both high and low cubicles. Considering the bullpen type also showed higher satisfaction with sound privacy than the high cubicle type, high partitions don't seem to contribute to creating workspaces where people can have a secure conversation. The bullpen type didn't show any difference from the enclosed shared type in all privacy, interaction, and acoustic quality questions, indicating it may be a good option for a small office space instead of the enclosed shared type. (author)

Affective privilege: Asymmetric interference by emotional distracters

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Crystal eReeck

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Numerous theories posit that affectively salient stimuli are privileged in their capacity to capture attention and disrupt ongoing cognition. Two underlying assumptions in this theoretical position are that the potency of affective stimuli transcends task boundaries (i.e., emotional distracters do not have to belong to a current task-set to disrupt processing and that there is an asymmetry between emotional and cognitive processing (i.e., emotional distracters disrupt cognitive processing, but not vice versa. These assumptions have remained largely untested, as common experimental probes of emotion-cognition interaction rarely manipulate task-relevance and only examine one side of the presumed asymmetry of interference. To test these propositions directly, a face-word Stroop protocol was adapted to independently manipulate (a the congruency between target and distracter stimulus features, (b the affective salience of distracter features, and (c the task-relevance of emotional compared to non-emotional target features. A three-way interaction revealed interdependent effects of distracter relevance, congruence, and affective salience. Compared to task-irrelevant distracters, task-relevant congruent distracters facilitated performance and task-relevant incongruent distracters impaired performance, but the latter effect depended on the nature of the target feature and task. Specifically, task-irrelevant emotional distracters resulted in equivalent performance costs as task-relevant non-emotional distracters, whereas task-irrelevant non-emotional distracters did not produce performance costs comparable to those generated by task-relevant emotional distracters. These results document asymmetric cross-task interference effects for affectively salient stimuli, supporting the notion of affective prioritization in human information processing.

Ecological interactions drive evolutionary loss of traits.

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Ellers, Jacintha; Kiers, E Toby; Currie, Cameron R; McDonald, Bradon R; Visser, Bertanne

2012-10-01

Loss of traits can dramatically alter the fate of species. Evidence is rapidly accumulating that the prevalence of trait loss is grossly underestimated. New findings demonstrate that traits can be lost without affecting the external phenotype, provided the lost function is compensated for by species interactions. This is important because trait loss can tighten the ecological relationship between partners, affecting the maintenance of species interactions. Here, we develop a new perspective on so-called `compensated trait loss' and how this type of trait loss may affect the evolutionary dynamics between interacting organisms. We argue that: (1) the frequency of compensated trait loss is currently underestimated because it can go unnoticed as long as ecological interactions are maintained; (2) by analysing known cases of trait loss, specific factors promoting compensated trait loss can be identified and (3) genomic sequencing is a key way forwards in detecting compensated trait loss. We present a comprehensive literature survey showing that compensated trait loss is taxonomically widespread, can involve essential traits, and often occurs as replicated evolutionary events. Despite its hidden nature, compensated trait loss is important in directing evolutionary dynamics of ecological relationships and has the potential to change facultative ecological interactions into obligatory ones. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Neural networks underlying affective states in a multimodal virtual environment: contributions to boredom

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Krystyna Anna Mathiak

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The interaction of low perceptual stimulation or goal-directed behavior with a negative subjective evaluation may lead to boredom. This contribution to boredom may shed light on its neural correlates, which are poorly characterized so far. A video game served as simulation of free interactive behavior without interruption of the game’s narrative. Thirteen male German volunteers played a first-person shooter game (Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. Two independent coders performed the time-based analysis of the audio-visual game content. Boredom was operationalized as interaction of prolonged absence of goal-directed behavior with lowered affect in the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS.A decrease of positive affect correlated with response amplitudes in bilateral insular clusters extending into the amygdala to prolonged inactive phases in a game play and an increase in negative affect was associated with higher responses in bilateral ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Precuneus and hippocampus responses were negatively correlated with changes in negative affect.We describe for the first time neural contributions to boredom, using a video game as complex virtual environment. Further our study confirmed that positive and negative affect are separable constructs, reflected by distinct neural patterns. Positive affect may be associated with afferent limbic activity whereas negative affect with affective control.

Interplay between affect and arousal in recognition memory.

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Greene, Ciara M; Bahri, Pooja; Soto, David

2010-07-23

Emotional states linked to arousal and mood are known to affect the efficiency of cognitive performance. However, the extent to which memory processes may be affected by arousal, mood or their interaction is poorly understood. Following a study phase of abstract shapes, we altered the emotional state of participants by means of exposure to music that varied in both mood and arousal dimensions, leading to four different emotional states: (i) positive mood-high arousal; (ii) positive mood-low arousal; (iii) negative mood-high arousal; (iv) negative mood-low arousal. Following the emotional induction, participants performed a memory recognition test. Critically, there was an interaction between mood and arousal on recognition performance. Memory was enhanced in the positive mood-high arousal and in the negative mood-low arousal states, relative to the other emotional conditions. Neither mood nor arousal alone but their interaction appears most critical to understanding the emotional enhancement of memory.

Interplay between affect and arousal in recognition memory.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ciara M Greene

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Emotional states linked to arousal and mood are known to affect the efficiency of cognitive performance. However, the extent to which memory processes may be affected by arousal, mood or their interaction is poorly understood.Following a study phase of abstract shapes, we altered the emotional state of participants by means of exposure to music that varied in both mood and arousal dimensions, leading to four different emotional states: (i positive mood-high arousal; (ii positive mood-low arousal; (iii negative mood-high arousal; (iv negative mood-low arousal. Following the emotional induction, participants performed a memory recognition test. Critically, there was an interaction between mood and arousal on recognition performance. Memory was enhanced in the positive mood-high arousal and in the negative mood-low arousal states, relative to the other emotional conditions.Neither mood nor arousal alone but their interaction appears most critical to understanding the emotional enhancement of memory.

The Impact of Cognitive-Affective Content on Advertising Messages in Consumer Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions: The Dual Cognitive-Affective Model (DMAC)-Edición Única

OpenAIRE

Valdéz García, Carlos G.

2005-01-01

In advertising, two important theoretical approaches, cognitive and affective, explain how consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions are affected by message content. However, the effects of cognitive and affective content in a single advertising message in consumer attitudes and behaviors have been understudied. In vi this research, using the theoretical constructs of cognitive and affective approaches to explore the effects of their interaction in advertising messages wa...

Possibilities and limitations of sup 1 H and sup 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for the identification and the quantitative determination of some naturally occurring carcinogenic risk factors. [Senecio vulgaris; Senecio vernalis; Senecio jacobaea; Euphorbia ingens

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pieters, L.

1988-01-01

The aim of this work was to develop a phytochemical screening method for some selected carcinogenic or tumor-promoting principles in higher plants. The pyrrolizidine alkaloids from some Senecio species (Compositae or Asteraceae), and the diterpene ester from Croton tiglium L. and Euphorbia ingens E. Mey (Euphorbiaceae) were chosen as representatives of both groups. The possibilities and limitations of {sup 1}H and {sup 13}C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ({sup 1}H and {sup 13}C NMR) for the analysis of mixtures of carcinogenic pyrrolizidine alkaloids were compared with high performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography with high performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography was well as gas chromatography - mass spectrometry. Senecio vulgaris L., Senecio vernalis Waldst. and Kit. and Senecio jacobaea L. were investigated.

Memory colours affect colour appearance.

Science.gov (United States)

Witzel, Christoph; Olkkonen, Maria; Gegenfurtner, Karl R

2016-01-01

Memory colour effects show that colour perception is affected by memory and prior knowledge and hence by cognition. None of Firestone & Scholl's (F&S's) potential pitfalls apply to our work on memory colours. We present a Bayesian model of colour appearance to illustrate that an interaction between perception and memory is plausible from the perspective of vision science.

Advances on Modelling Riparian Vegetation-Hydromorphology Interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Solari, L.; Van Oorschot, M.; Belletti, B.; Hendriks, D.; Rinaldi, M.; Vargas-Luna, A.

2016-01-01

Riparian vegetation actively interacts with fluvial systems affecting river hydrodynamics, morphodynamics and groundwater. These interactions can be coupled because both vegetation and hydromorphology (i.e. the combined scientific study of hydrology and fluvial geomorphology) involve dynamic

Host Diet Affects the Morphology of Monarch Butterfly Parasites.

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Hoang, Kevin; Tao, Leiling; Hunter, Mark D; de Roode, Jacobus C

2017-06-01

Understanding host-parasite interactions is essential for ecological research, wildlife conservation, and health management. While most studies focus on numerical traits of parasite groups, such as changes in parasite load, less focus is placed on the traits of individual parasites such as parasite size and shape (parasite morphology). Parasite morphology has significant effects on parasite fitness such as initial colonization of hosts, avoidance of host immune defenses, and the availability of resources for parasite replication. As such, understanding factors that affect parasite morphology is important in predicting the consequences of host-parasite interactions. Here, we studied how host diet affected the spore morphology of a protozoan parasite ( Ophryocystis elektroscirrha ), a specialist parasite of the monarch butterfly ( Danaus plexippus ). We found that different host plant species (milkweeds; Asclepias spp.) significantly affected parasite spore size. Previous studies have found that cardenolides, secondary chemicals in host plants of monarchs, can reduce parasite loads and increase the lifespan of infected butterflies. Adding to this benefit of high cardenolide milkweeds, we found that infected monarchs reared on milkweeds of higher cardenolide concentrations yielded smaller parasites, a potentially hidden characteristic of cardenolides that may have important implications for monarch-parasite interactions.

Money Affects Theory of Mind Differently by Gender.

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Garret Ridinger

Full Text Available Theory of Mind (ToM--the ability to understand other's thoughts, intentions, and emotions--is important for navigating interpersonal relationships, avoiding conflict, and empathizing. Prior research has identified many factors that affect one's ToM ability, but little work has examined how different kinds of monetary incentives affect ToM ability. We ask: Does money affect ToM ability? If so, how does the effect depend on the structure of monetary incentives? How do the differences depend on gender? We hypothesize that money will affect ToM ability differently by gender: monetary rewards increase males' motivation to express ToM ability while simultaneously crowding out females' motivation. This prediction is confirmed in an experiment that varies the structure of monetary rewards for correct answers in the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET. RMET scores decrease for females and increase for males with individual payments, and this effect is stronger with competitively-structured payments. RMET scores do not significantly change when monetary earnings go to a charity. Whether money improves or hinders ToM ability, and, hence, success in social interactions, thus depends on the interaction of gender and monetary incentive structure.

AFFECTIVE ASSESSMENT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

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Siti Mariam

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Affective aspect plays important role in man’s life, mainly in making decision, perception, interaction, communication and intelligence. A second behavior domain is the affective domain. The affective domain involves feelings, attitude, interests, preferences, values, and emotions. Emotional stability, motivation, trustworthiness, self-control, and personality are all examples of affective characteristics. Although affective behaviors are rarely assessed formally in schools and classrooms, teachers constantly assess affective behaviors informally, especially when sizing up students. Teachers need to know who can be trusted to work unsupervised and who cannot, who can maintain self-control when the teacher has to leave the classroom and who cannot, who needs to be encouraged to speak in class and who does not, who is interested in science but not in social studies, and who needs to be prodded to start class work and who does not. Most classroom teachers can describe their students’ affective characteristics based on their informal observations and interactions with the students. Statement of the Problem. a Exploration Phase. (1 Can affective aspects improve students’ achievement of English subject for university students of non-English Departments ? (2 Which affective aspects are potentially be used to improve students’ achievement of English subject for university students of non-English Department ? (3 To what extent is the affective assessment of English subject needed by English teachers of non-English Departments ? b Prototype Development Phase. (4 How should the affective assessment model of English subject for university students of non-English Departments be constructed ? (5 How high is the effectiveness of affective assessment model of English subject for university students of non – English Departments ? c Field Assessment Phase. (6 To what extent can the model of affective assessment draft be used to enhance students�

The RNA binding protein HuR does not interact directly with HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and does not affect reverse transcription in vitro

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gronenborn Angela M

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Lemay et al recently reported that the RNA binding protein HuR directly interacts with the ribonuclease H (RNase H domain of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT and influences the efficiency of viral reverse transcription (Lemay et al., 2008, Retrovirology 5:47. HuR is a member of the embryonic lethal abnormal vision protein family and contains 3 RNA recognition motifs (RRMs that bind AU-rich elements (AREs. To define the structural determinants of the HuR-RT interaction and to elucidate the mechanism(s by which HuR influences HIV-1 reverse transcription activity in vitro, we cloned and purified full-length HuR as well as three additional protein constructs that contained the N-terminal and internal RRMs, the internal and C-terminal RRMs, or the C-terminal RRM only. Results All four HuR proteins were purified and characterized by biophysical methods. They are well structured and exist as monomers in solution. No direct protein-protein interaction between HuR and HIV-1 RT was detected using NMR titrations with 15N labeled HuR variants or the 15N labeled RNase H domain of HIV-1 RT. Furthermore, HuR did not significantly affect the kinetics of HIV-1 reverse transcription in vitro, even on RNA templates that contain AREs. Conclusions Our results suggest that HuR does not impact HIV-1 replication through a direct protein-protein interaction with the viral RT.

Social Interaction Affects Neural Outcomes of Sign Language Learning As a Foreign Language in Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Yusa, Noriaki; Kim, Jungho; Koizumi, Masatoshi; Sugiura, Motoaki; Kawashima, Ryuta

2017-01-01

Children naturally acquire a language in social contexts where they interact with their caregivers. Indeed, research shows that social interaction facilitates lexical and phonological development at the early stages of child language acquisition. It is not clear, however, whether the relationship between social interaction and learning applies to adult second language acquisition of syntactic rules. Does learning second language syntactic rules through social interactions with a native speaker or without such interactions impact behavior and the brain? The current study aims to answer this question. Adult Japanese participants learned a new foreign language, Japanese sign language (JSL), either through a native deaf signer or via DVDs. Neural correlates of acquiring new linguistic knowledge were investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The participants in each group were indistinguishable in terms of their behavioral data after the instruction. The fMRI data, however, revealed significant differences in the neural activities between two groups. Significant activations in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) were found for the participants who learned JSL through interactions with the native signer. In contrast, no cortical activation change in the left IFG was found for the group who experienced the same visual input for the same duration via the DVD presentation. Given that the left IFG is involved in the syntactic processing of language, spoken or signed, learning through social interactions resulted in an fMRI signature typical of native speakers: activation of the left IFG. Thus, broadly speaking, availability of communicative interaction is necessary for second language acquisition and this results in observed changes in the brain.

A randomized crossover trial to study the effect of personalized, one-to-one interaction using Montessori-based activities on agitation, affect, and engagement in nursing home residents with Dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Ploeg, Eva S; Eppingstall, Barbara; Camp, Cameron J; Runci, Susannah J; Taffe, John; O'Connor, Daniel W

2013-04-01

Increasingly more attention has been paid to non-pharmacological interventions as treatment of agitated behaviors that accompany dementia. The aim of the current study is to test if personalized one-to-one interaction activities based on Montessori principles will improve agitation, affect, and engagement more than a relevant control condition. We conducted a randomized crossover trial in nine residential facilities in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia (n = 44). Personalized one-to-one activities that were delivered using Montessori principles were compared with a non-personalized activity to control for the non-specific benefits of one-to-one interaction. Participants were observed 30 minutes before, during, and after the sessions. The presence or absence of a selected physically non-aggressive behavior was noted in every minute, together with the predominant type of affect and engagement. Behavior counts fell considerably during both the Montessori and control sessions relative to beforehand. During Montessori activities, the amount of time spend actively engaged was double compared to during the control condition and participants displayed more positive affect and interest as well. Participants with no fluency in English (all from non-English speaking backgrounds) showed a significantly larger reduction in agitation during the Montessori than control sessions. Our results show that even non-personalized social contact can assist in settling agitated residents. Tailoring activities to residents' needs and capabilities elicit more positive interactions and are especially suitable for people who have lost fluency in the language spoken predominantly in their residential facility. Future studies could explore implementation by family members and volunteers to avoid demands on facilities' resources. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry - ACTRN12609000564257.

Affective Learning and the Classroom Debate

Science.gov (United States)

Jagger, Suzy

2013-01-01

A commonly used teaching method to promote student engagement is the classroom debate. This study evaluates how affective characteristics, as defined in Bloom's taxonomy, were stimulated during debates that took place on a professional ethics module for first year computing undergraduates. The debates led to lively interactive group discussions…

“Prejudiced” Behavior Without Prejudice? Beliefs About the Malleability of Prejudice Affect Interracial Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, Priyanka B.; Dweck, Carol S.; Pauker, Kristin

2013-01-01

Prejudiced behavior is typically seen as emanating from prejudiced attitudes. Eight studies showed that majority-group members’ beliefs about prejudice can create seemingly “prejudiced” behaviors above and beyond prejudice measured explicitly (Study 1b) and implicitly (Study 2). Those who believed prejudice was relatively fixed, rather than malleable, were less interested in interracial interactions (Studies 1a–d), race- or diversity-related activities (Study 1a), and activities to reduce their prejudice (Study 3). They were also more uncomfortable in interracial, but not same-race, interactions (Study 2). Study 4 manipulated beliefs about prejudice and found that a fixed belief, by heightening concerns about revealing prejudice to oneself and others, depressed interest in interracial interactions. Further, though those taught a fixed belief were more anxious and unfriendly in an interaction with a Black compared to White individual, those taught a malleable belief were not (Study 5). Implications for reducing prejudice and improving intergroup relations are discussed. PMID:22708626

How Levels of Interactivity in Tutorials Affect Students' Learning of Modeling Transportation Problems in a Spreadsheet

Science.gov (United States)

Seal, Kala Chand; Przasnyski, Zbigniew H.; Leon, Linda A.

2010-01-01

Do students learn to model OR/MS problems better by using computer-based interactive tutorials and, if so, does increased interactivity in the tutorials lead to better learning? In order to determine the effect of different levels of interactivity on student learning, we used screen capture technology to design interactive support materials for…

Ideology, affect, semiotics: towards a non-personal theory of personality.

Science.gov (United States)

Larocco, Steve

2014-06-01

Personality theories, as Giordano (2014) argues, often treat Western versions of the self as having universal import. Eastern notions of self, however, offer a dramatically different basis for thinking about what personality might be. This paper, nonetheless, seeks to offer a general framework for theorizing about the epiphenomenon of personality in any culture, asserting that it is an effect of specific histories of ideological practices, semiotic networks and systems, and affect, which engage each other in dialogic and dialectical ways. The interactions of these factors, guided by ideology, regularize behavior and affective dynamics, largely in non-personal ways. Subjects are produced and reproduced from these complex interactions, which are situationally specific and simultaneously transpersonal. The subjects formed through these interactions are the basis for the folk psychology of personality, which treats the transient, varying effects of these interactions as more or less reified qualities that form a basis for the construction of selfhood, however conceived.

Momentary assessment of contextual influences on affective response during physical activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunton, Genevieve Fridlund; Liao, Yue; Intille, Stephen; Huh, Jimi; Leventhal, Adam

2015-12-01

Higher positive and lower negative affective response during physical activity may reinforce motivation to engage in future activity. However, affective response during physical activity is typically examined under controlled laboratory conditions. This research used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine social and physical contextual influences on momentary affective response during physical activity in naturalistic settings. Participants included 116 adults (mean age = 40.3 years, 73% female) who completed 8 randomly prompted EMA surveys per day for 4 days across 3 semiannual waves. EMA surveys measured current activity level, social context, and physical context. Participants also rated their current positive and negative affect. Multilevel models assessed whether momentary physical activity level moderated differences in affective response across contexts controlling for day of the week, time of day, and activity intensity (measured by accelerometer). The Activity Level × Alone interaction was significant for predicting positive affect (β = -0.302, SE = 0.133, p = .024). Greater positive affect during physical activity was reported when with other people (vs. alone). The Activity Level × Outdoors interaction was significant for predicting negative affect (β = -0.206, SE = 0.097, p = .034). Lower negative affect during physical activity was reported outdoors (vs. indoors). Being with other people may enhance positive affective response during physical activity, and being outdoors may dampen negative affective response during physical activity. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

How interactions between top-down and bottom-up controls on carbon cycling affect fluxes within and from lakes

Science.gov (United States)

Sadro, S.; Piovia-Scott, J.; Nelson, C.; Sickman, J. O.; Knapp, R.

2017-12-01

While the role of inland waters in global carbon cycling has grown clearer in recent decades, the extent to which top-down and bottom-up mechanisms interact to regulate dynamics at the catchment scale is not well understood. The degree to which lakes process, export, or store terrestrial carbon is influenced by hydrological variability, variation in the magnitude of terrestrial organic matter (t-OM) entering a system, the efficiency with which such material is metabolized by bacterioplankton, the extent to which it is incorporated into secondary consumer biomass, and by the effects of food-web structure, such as the presence or absence of top predators. However, how these processes interact to mediate carbon fluxes between terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric reservoirs remains unclear. We develop a conceptual model that explores how interactions among these factors ultimately affects carbon dynamics using data from lakes located in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. The Sierra are an excellent system for studies of carbon cycling because elevation-induced landscape gradients in soil development and vegetation cover provide large natural variation in terrestrial inputs to lakes, while variation in confounding factors such as lake morphometry or trophic state is comparatively small. Dissolved organic carbon concentrations increase 100 fold in lakes spanning the alpine to montane elevation gradient found in the Sierra, and fluorescence characteristics reflect an increasingly terrestrial signature with decreasing elevation. Bacterioplankton make up a large proportion of total ecosystem metabolism in these systems, and their metabolic efficiency is tightly coupled to the composition of dissolved organic matter. Stable isotope food web data (δ13C, Δ14C, and δ2H) and measurements of pCO2 from lakes indicate the magnitude of allochthony, rates if carbon cycling, and ecosystem heterotrophy all increase with the increasingly terrestrial signature of dissolved

Exploring sonic interaction design and presence: Natural Interactive Walking in Porto

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordahl, Rolf; Serafin, Stefania; Fontana, Frederico

2009-01-01

In this paper we report on the results of a three days workshop whose goal was to combine interactive sounds and soundscape design to simulate the sensation of walking in a specific location of Porto. We discuss advantages and disadvantages of the different solutions proposed in terms of the tech......In this paper we report on the results of a three days workshop whose goal was to combine interactive sounds and soundscape design to simulate the sensation of walking in a specific location of Porto. We discuss advantages and disadvantages of the different solutions proposed in terms...... of the technology used, and issues of how sonic interaction combined with soundscape design affects presence in virtual environments....

Valence interacts with the early ERP old/new effect and arousal with the sustained ERP old/new effect for affective pictures.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Strien, Jan W; Langeslag, Sandra J E; Strekalova, Nadja J; Gootjes, Liselotte; Franken, Ingmar H A

2009-01-28

To examine whether valence and arousal influence recognition memory during early automatic or during more sustained processes, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) of 21 women were recorded while they made old/new judgments in a continuous recognition task with pictures from the International Affective Picture System. The pictures were presented twice and differed in emotional valence and arousal. The P1 peak and four time windows were investigated: 200-300 ms, 300-400 ms, 400-600 ms, and 750-1000 ms after stimulus onset. There was a robust old/new effect starting in the 200-300 ms epoch and lasting all time windows. The valence effect was mainly present in the P1 peak and the 200-400 ms epoch, whereas the arousal effect was found in the 300-1000 ms epoch. Exploratory sLORETA analyses dissociated valence-dependent ventromedial prefrontal activity and arousal-dependent occipital activity in the 350-380 ms time window. Valence interacted with the 200-400 ms old/new effect at central and frontal sites. Arousal interacted with the 750-1000 ms old/new effect at posterior sites. It is concluded that valence influences fast recognition memory, while arousal may influence sustained encoding.

Does leader-affective presence influence communication of creative ideas within work teams?

Science.gov (United States)

Madrid, Hector P; Totterdell, Peter; Niven, Karen

2016-09-01

Affective presence is a novel, emotion-related personality trait, supported in experimental studies, concerning the extent to which a person makes his or her interaction partners feel the same way (Eisenkraft & Elfenbein, 2010). Applying this concept to an applied teamwork context, we proposed that team-leader-affective presence would influence team members' communication of creative ideas. Multilevel modeling analysis of data from a survey study conducted with teams from a consultancy firm confirmed that team-leader-affective presence interacted with team-member creative idea generation to predict inhibition of voicing their ideas. Specifically, withholding of ideas was less likely when team members generated creative ideas and their team leader had higher positive affective presence or lower negative affective presence. These findings contribute to emotion research by showing affective presence as a trait with interpersonal meaning, which can shape how cognition is translated into social behavior in applied performance contexts, such as teamwork in organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Paternal social experience affects male reproductive behaviour in ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

[Dasgupta P., Halder S. and Nandy B. 2016 Paternal social experience affects male reproductive behaviour in Drosophila .... allowed to the competitor male to interact with the female. Following ... conditions including maternal environment.

Cognitive and affective empathy in children with conduct problems: additive and interactive effects of callous-unemotional traits and autism spectrum disorders symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasalich, Dave S; Dadds, Mark R; Hawes, David J

2014-11-30

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) symptoms are characterized by problems in empathy; however, these behavioral features are rarely examined together in children with conduct problems. This study investigated additive and interactive effects of CU traits and ASD symptoms in relation to cognitive and affective empathy in a non-ASD clinic-referred sample. Participants were 134 children aged 3 to 9 years (M=5.60; 79% boys) with oppositional defiant/conduct disorder, and their parents. Clinicians, teachers, and parents reported on dimensions of child behavior, and parental reports of family dysfunction and direct observations of parental warmth/responsiveness assessed quality of family relationships. Results from multiple regression analysis showed that, over and above the effects of child conduct problem severity and quality of family relationships, both ASD symptoms and CU traits were uniquely associated with deficits in cognitive empathy. Moreover, CU traits demonstrated an independent association with affective empathy, and this relationship was moderated by ASD symptoms. That is, there was a stronger negative association between CU traits and affective empathy at higher versus lower levels of ASD symptoms. These findings suggest including both CU traits and ASD-related social impairments in models delineating the atypical development of empathy in children with conduct problems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interactions between above- and belowground organisms modified in climate change experiments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stevnsbak, Karen; Scherber, Christoph; Gladbach, David

2012-01-01

Climate change has been shown to affect ecosystem process rates and community composition, with direct and indirect effects on belowground food webs. In particular, altered rates of herbivory under future climate4 can be expected to influence above–belowground interactions. Here, we use...... a multifactor, field-scale climate change experiment and independently manipulate atmospheric CO2 concentration, air and soil temperature and drought in all combinations since 2005. We show that changes in these factors modify the interaction between above- and belowground organisms.We use an insect herbivore...... a reduction in herbivory and cascading effects through the soil food web. Interactions between CO2, drought and warming can affect belowground protozoan abundance. Our findings imply that climate change affects aboveground–belowground interactions through changes in nutrient availability....

Multi-scale interactions affecting transport, storage, and processing of solutes and sediments in stream corridors (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, J. W.; Packman, A. I.

2010-12-01

Surface water and groundwater flow interact with the channel geomorphology and sediments in ways that determine how material is transported, stored, and transformed in stream corridors. Solute and sediment transport affect important ecological processes such as carbon and nutrient dynamics and stream metabolism, processes that are fundamental to stream health and function. Many individual mechanisms of transport and storage of solute and sediment have been studied, including surface water exchange between the main channel and side pools, hyporheic flow through shallow and deep subsurface flow paths, and sediment transport during both baseflow and floods. A significant challenge arises from non-linear and scale-dependent transport resulting from natural, fractal fluvial topography and associated broad, multi-scale hydrologic interactions. Connections between processes and linkages across scales are not well understood, imposing significant limitations on system predictability. The whole-stream tracer experimental approach is popular because of the spatial averaging of heterogeneous processes; however the tracer results, implemented alone and analyzed using typical models, cannot usually predict transport beyond the very specific conditions of the experiment. Furthermore, the results of whole stream tracer experiments tend to be biased due to unavoidable limitations associated with sampling frequency, measurement sensitivity, and experiment duration. We recommend that whole-stream tracer additions be augmented with hydraulic and topographic measurements and also with additional tracer measurements made directly in storage zones. We present examples of measurements that encompass interactions across spatial and temporal scales and models that are transferable to a wide range of flow and geomorphic conditions. These results show how the competitive effects between the different forces driving hyporheic flow, operating at different spatial scales, creates a situation

Spin-orbit interaction in multiple quantum wells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, Ya-Fei

2015-01-01

In this paper, we investigate how the structure of multiple quantum wells affects spin-orbit interactions. To increase the interface-related Rashba spin splitting and the strength of the interface-related Rashba spin-orbit interaction, we designed three kinds of multiple quantum wells. We demonstrate that the structure of the multiple quantum wells strongly affected the interface-related Rashba spin-orbit interaction, increasing the interface-related Rashba spin splitting to up to 26% larger in multiple quantum wells than in a stepped quantum well. We also show that the cubic Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction similarly influenced the spin relaxation time of multiple quantum wells and that of a stepped quantum well. The increase in the interface-related Rashba spin splitting originates from the relationship between interface-related Rashba spin splitting and electron probability density. Our results suggest that multiple quantum wells can be good candidates for spintronic devices

Spin-orbit interaction in multiple quantum wells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hao, Ya-Fei, E-mail: haoyafei@zjnu.cn [Physics Department, Zhejiang Normal University, Zhejiang 321004 (China)

2015-01-07

In this paper, we investigate how the structure of multiple quantum wells affects spin-orbit interactions. To increase the interface-related Rashba spin splitting and the strength of the interface-related Rashba spin-orbit interaction, we designed three kinds of multiple quantum wells. We demonstrate that the structure of the multiple quantum wells strongly affected the interface-related Rashba spin-orbit interaction, increasing the interface-related Rashba spin splitting to up to 26% larger in multiple quantum wells than in a stepped quantum well. We also show that the cubic Dresselhaus spin-orbit interaction similarly influenced the spin relaxation time of multiple quantum wells and that of a stepped quantum well. The increase in the interface-related Rashba spin splitting originates from the relationship between interface-related Rashba spin splitting and electron probability density. Our results suggest that multiple quantum wells can be good candidates for spintronic devices.

Embracing your emotions: affective state impacts lateralisation of human embraces.

Science.gov (United States)

Packheiser, Julian; Rook, Noemi; Dursun, Zeynep; Mesenhöller, Janne; Wenglorz, Alrescha; Güntürkün, Onur; Ocklenburg, Sebastian

2018-01-18

Humans are highly social animals that show a wide variety of verbal and non-verbal behaviours to communicate social intent. One of the most frequently used non-verbal social behaviours is embracing, commonly used as an expression of love and affection. However, it can also occur in a large variety of social situations entailing negative (fear or sadness) or neutral emotionality (formal greetings). Embracing is also experienced from birth onwards in mother-infant interactions and is thus accompanying human social interaction across the whole lifespan. Despite the importance of embraces for human social interactions, their underlying neurophysiology is unknown. Here, we demonstrated in a well-powered sample of more than 2500 adults that humans show a significant rightward bias during embracing. Additionally, we showed that this general motor preference is strongly modulated by emotional contexts: the induction of positive or negative affect shifted the rightward bias significantly to the left, indicating a stronger involvement of right-hemispheric neural networks during emotional embraces. In a second laboratory study, we were able to replicate both of these findings and furthermore demonstrated that the motor preferences during embracing correlate with handedness. Our studies therefore not only show that embracing is controlled by an interaction of motor and affective networks, they also demonstrate that emotional factors seem to activate right-hemispheric systems in valence-invariant ways.

Theories of willpower affect sustained learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Eric M; Walton, Gregory M; Dweck, Carol S; Job, Veronika; Trzesniewski, Kali H; McClure, Samuel M

2012-01-01

Building cognitive abilities often requires sustained engagement with effortful tasks. We demonstrate that beliefs about willpower-whether willpower is viewed as a limited or non-limited resource-impact sustained learning on a strenuous mental task. As predicted, beliefs about willpower did not affect accuracy or improvement during the initial phases of learning; however, participants who were led to view willpower as non-limited showed greater sustained learning over the full duration of the task. These findings highlight the interactive nature of motivational and cognitive processes: motivational factors can substantially affect people's ability to recruit their cognitive resources to sustain learning over time.

Food-packaging interactions influencing quality and safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Hotchkiss, J H

1997-01-01

Interactions between foods and packaging can be detrimental to quality and/or safety. Changes in product flavour due to aroma sorption and the transfer of undesirable flavours from packaging to foods are important mechanisms of deterioration when foods are packaged in polymer-based materials. Careful consideration must be given to those factors affecting such interactions when selecting packaging materials in order to maximize product quality, safety, and shelf-life while minimizing undesirable changes. Product considerations include sensitivity to flavour and related deteriorations, colour changes, vitamin loss, microbial activity, and amount of flavour available. Storage considerations include temperature, time, and processing method. Polymer considerations include type of polymer and processing method, volume or mass of polymer to product ratio, and whether the interaction is Fickian or non-Fickian. Methodology to determine the extent of such interactions must be developed. Direct interactions between food and packaging are not necessarily detrimental. The same principles governing undesirable interactions can be used to affect desirable outcomes. Examples include films which directly intercept or absorb oxygen, inhibit microorganisms, remove undesirable flavours by sorption, or indicate safety and product shelf-life.

Interactive multimodal ambulatory monitoring to investigate the association between physical activity and affect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ulrich W. Ebner-Priemer

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Although there is a wealth of evidence that physical activity has positive effects on psychological health, a large proportion of people are inactive. Data regarding counts, steps, and movement patterns are limited in their ability to explain why people remain inactive. We propose that multimodal ambulatory monitoring, which combines the assessment of physical activity with the assessment of psychological variables, helps to elucidate real world physical activity. Whereas physical activity can be monitored continuously, psychological variables can only be assessed at discrete intervals, such as every hour. Moreover, the assessment of psychological variables must be linked to the activity of interest. For example, if an inactive and overweight person is physically active once a week, psychological variables should be assessed during this episode. Linking the assessment of psychological variables to episodes of an activity of interest can be achieved with interactive monitoring. The primary aim of our interactive multimodal ambulatory monitoring approach was to intentionally increase the number of e-diary assessments during active episodes.We developed and tested an interactive monitoring algorithm that continuously monitors physical activity in everyday life. When predefined thresholds are surpassed, the algorithm triggers a signal for participants to answer questions in their electronic diary.Using data from 70 participants wearing an accelerative device for 24 hours each, we found that our algorithm quadrupled the frequency of e-diary assessments during the activity episodes of interest compared to random sampling. Multimodal interactive ambulatory monitoring appears to be a promising approach to enhancing our understanding of real world physical activity and movement.

Mutation in cyclophilin B that causes hyperelastosis cutis in American Quarter Horse does not affect peptidylprolyl cis-trans isomerase activity but shows altered cyclophilin B-protein interactions and affects collagen folding.

Science.gov (United States)

Ishikawa, Yoshihiro; Vranka, Janice A; Boudko, Sergei P; Pokidysheva, Elena; Mizuno, Kazunori; Zientek, Keith; Keene, Douglas R; Rashmir-Raven, Ann M; Nagata, Kazuhiro; Winand, Nena J; Bächinger, Hans Peter

2012-06-22

The rate-limiting step of folding of the collagen triple helix is catalyzed by cyclophilin B (CypB). The G6R mutation in cyclophilin B found in the American Quarter Horse leads to autosomal recessive hyperelastosis cutis, also known as hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia. The mutant protein shows small structural changes in the region of the mutation at the side opposite the catalytic domain of CypB. The peptidylprolyl cis-trans isomerase activity of the mutant CypB is normal when analyzed in vitro. However, the biosynthesis of type I collagen in affected horse fibroblasts shows a delay in folding and secretion and a decrease in hydroxylysine and glucosyl-galactosyl hydroxylysine. This leads to changes in the structure of collagen fibrils in tendon, similar to those observed in P3H1 null mice. In contrast to cyclophilin B null mice, where little 3-hydroxylation was found in type I collagen, 3-hydroxylation of type I collagen in affected horses is normal. The mutation disrupts the interaction of cyclophilin B with the P-domain of calreticulin, with lysyl hydroxylase 1, and probably other proteins, such as the formation of the P3H1·CypB·cartilage-associated protein complex, resulting in less effective catalysis of the rate-limiting step in collagen folding in the rough endoplasmic reticulum.

Mutation in Cyclophilin B That Causes Hyperelastosis Cutis in American Quarter Horse Does Not Affect Peptidylprolyl cis-trans Isomerase Activity but Shows Altered Cyclophilin B-Protein Interactions and Affects Collagen Folding*

Science.gov (United States)

Ishikawa, Yoshihiro; Vranka, Janice A.; Boudko, Sergei P.; Pokidysheva, Elena; Mizuno, Kazunori; Zientek, Keith; Keene, Douglas R.; Rashmir-Raven, Ann M.; Nagata, Kazuhiro; Winand, Nena J.; Bächinger, Hans Peter

2012-01-01

The rate-limiting step of folding of the collagen triple helix is catalyzed by cyclophilin B (CypB). The G6R mutation in cyclophilin B found in the American Quarter Horse leads to autosomal recessive hyperelastosis cutis, also known as hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia. The mutant protein shows small structural changes in the region of the mutation at the side opposite the catalytic domain of CypB. The peptidylprolyl cis-trans isomerase activity of the mutant CypB is normal when analyzed in vitro. However, the biosynthesis of type I collagen in affected horse fibroblasts shows a delay in folding and secretion and a decrease in hydroxylysine and glucosyl-galactosyl hydroxylysine. This leads to changes in the structure of collagen fibrils in tendon, similar to those observed in P3H1 null mice. In contrast to cyclophilin B null mice, where little 3-hydroxylation was found in type I collagen, 3-hydroxylation of type I collagen in affected horses is normal. The mutation disrupts the interaction of cyclophilin B with the P-domain of calreticulin, with lysyl hydroxylase 1, and probably other proteins, such as the formation of the P3H1·CypB·cartilage-associated protein complex, resulting in less effective catalysis of the rate-limiting step in collagen folding in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. PMID:22556420

Pro-toxic 1,2-Dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloid esters, including unprecedented 10-membered macrocyclic diesters, in the medicinally-used Alafia cf. caudata and Amphineurion marginatum (Apocynaceae: Apocynoideae: Nerieae and Apoc

Science.gov (United States)

The attraction of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-pharmacophagous insects indicated the presence of pro-toxic dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids in Alafia cf. caudata Stapf (Nerieae: Alafinae) and Amphineurion marginatum (Roxb.) D.J. Middleton (Apocyneae: Amphineuriinae). Subsequently, monoesters of retronecine ...

Interplay between Affect and Arousal in Recognition Memory

OpenAIRE

Greene, Ciara M.; Bahri, Pooja; Soto, David

2010-01-01

Background: Emotional states linked to arousal and mood are known to affect the efficiency of cognitive performance. However, the extent to which memory processes may be affected by arousal, mood or their interaction is poorly understood. Methodology/Principal Findings: Following a study phase of abstract shapes, we altered the emotional state of participants by means of exposure to music that varied in both mood and arousal dimensions, leading to four different emotional states: (i) positive...

Discordant tasks and motor adjustments affect interactions between adaptations to altered kinematics and dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fritzie Arce

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Motor control and adaptation are multi-determinate processes with complex interactions. This is reflected for example in the ambiguous nature of interactions during sequential adaptation of reaching under kinematics and dynamics perturbations. It has been suggested that perturbations based on the same kinematic parameter interfere. Others posited that opposing motor adjustments underlie interference. Here, we examined the influence of discordances in task and in motor adjustments on sequential adaptations to visuomotor rotation and viscous force field perturbations. These two factors – perturbation direction and task discordance – have been examined separately by previous studies, thus the inherent difficulty to identify the roots of interference. Forty-eight human subjects adapted sequentially to one or two types of perturbations, of matched or conflicting directions. We found a gradient of interaction effects based on perturbation direction and task discordance. Perturbations of matched directions showed facilitation while perturbations of opposite directions, which required opposing motor adjustments, interfered with each other. Further, interaction effects increased with greater task discordance. We also found that force field and visuomotor rotation had mutual anterograde and retrograde effects. However, we found independence between anterograde and retrograde interferences between similar tasks. The results suggest that the newly acquired internal models of kinematic and dynamic perturbations are not independent but they share common neuronal resources and interact between them. Such overlap does not necessarily imply competition of resources. Rather, our results point to an additional principle of sensorimotor adaptation allowing the system to tap or harness common features across diverse sensory inputs and task contexts whenever available.

Bispectral pairwise interacting source analysis for identifying systems of cross-frequency interacting brain sources from electroencephalographic or magnetoencephalographic signals

Science.gov (United States)

Chella, Federico; Pizzella, Vittorio; Zappasodi, Filippo; Nolte, Guido; Marzetti, Laura

2016-05-01

Brain cognitive functions arise through the coordinated activity of several brain regions, which actually form complex dynamical systems operating at multiple frequencies. These systems often consist of interacting subsystems, whose characterization is of importance for a complete understanding of the brain interaction processes. To address this issue, we present a technique, namely the bispectral pairwise interacting source analysis (biPISA), for analyzing systems of cross-frequency interacting brain sources when multichannel electroencephalographic (EEG) or magnetoencephalographic (MEG) data are available. Specifically, the biPISA makes it possible to identify one or many subsystems of cross-frequency interacting sources by decomposing the antisymmetric components of the cross-bispectra between EEG or MEG signals, based on the assumption that interactions are pairwise. Thanks to the properties of the antisymmetric components of the cross-bispectra, biPISA is also robust to spurious interactions arising from mixing artifacts, i.e., volume conduction or field spread, which always affect EEG or MEG functional connectivity estimates. This method is an extension of the pairwise interacting source analysis (PISA), which was originally introduced for investigating interactions at the same frequency, to the study of cross-frequency interactions. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated in simulations for up to three interacting source pairs and for real MEG recordings of spontaneous brain activity. Simulations show that the performances of biPISA in estimating the phase difference between the interacting sources are affected by the increasing level of noise rather than by the number of the interacting subsystems. The analysis of real MEG data reveals an interaction between two pairs of sources of central mu and beta rhythms, localizing in the proximity of the left and right central sulci.