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- El-Seedi, Hesham R., et al.
(author)
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Anti-schistosomiasis triterpene glycoside from the Egyptian medicinal plant Asparagus stipularis
- 2011
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In: REV BRAS FARMACOGN. - : SOC BRASILEIRA FARMACOGNOSIA. - 0102-695X. ; 22:2, s. 314-318
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Bioassay-guided isolation using an in vitro assay testing for anti-schistosomiasis yielded a novel triterpene saponin, asparagalin A, from the n-butanol extract of the roots of Asparagus stipularis Forssk., Asparagaceae. The structure was elucidated by spectroscopic analysis and chemical transformations. Administration of asparagalin A resulted in a retardation of worm growth and locomotion at the first day and showed a significant activity of egg-laying suppression at 200 mu g/mL concentration.
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- Govaere, O., et al.
(author)
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Macrophage scavenger receptor 1 mediates lipid-induced inflammation in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- 2022
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In: Journal of Hepatology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-8278 .- 1600-0641. ; 76:5, s. 1001-1012
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background & Aims: Obesity-associated inflammation is a key player in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the role of macrophage scavenger receptor 1 (MSR1, CD204) remains incompletely understood. Methods: A total of 170 NAFLD liver biopsies were processed for transcriptomic analysis and correlated with clinicopathological features. Msr1-/- and wild-type mice were subjected to a 16-week high-fat and high-cholesterol diet. Mice and ex vivo human liver slices were treated with a monoclonal antibody against MSR1. Genetic susceptibility was assessed using genome-wide association study data from 1,483 patients with NAFLD and 430,101 participants of the UK Biobank. Results: MSR1 expression was associated with the occurrence of hepatic lipid-laden foamy macrophages and correlated with the degree of steatosis and steatohepatitis in patients with NAFLD. Mice lacking Msr1 were protected against diet-induced metabolic disorder, showing fewer hepatic foamy macrophages, less hepatic inflammation, improved dyslipidaemia and glucose tolerance, and altered hepatic lipid metabolism. Upon induction by saturated fatty acids, MSR1 induced a pro-inflammatory response via the JNK signalling pathway. In vitro blockade of the receptor prevented the accumulation of lipids in primary macrophages which inhibited the switch towards a pro-inflammatory phenotype and the release of cytokines such as TNF-ɑ. Targeting MSR1 using monoclonal antibody therapy in an obesity-associated NAFLD mouse model and human liver slices resulted in the prevention of foamy macrophage formation and inflammation. Moreover, we identified that rs41505344, a polymorphism in the upstream transcriptional region of MSR1, was associated with altered serum triglycerides and aspartate aminotransferase levels in a cohort of over 400,000 patients. Conclusions: Taken together, our data suggest that MSR1 plays a critical role in lipid-induced inflammation and could thus be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of NAFLD. Lay summary: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic disease primarily caused by excessive consumption of fat and sugar combined with a lack of exercise or a sedentary lifestyle. Herein, we show that the macrophage scavenger receptor MSR1, an innate immune receptor, mediates lipid uptake and accumulation in Kupffer cells, resulting in liver inflammation and thereby promoting the progression of NAFLD in humans and mice. © 2021 The Authors
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- Guelland, Kathi, et al.
(author)
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Evolution of carbon fluxes during initial soil formation along the forefield of Damma glacier, Switzerland
- 2013
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In: Biogeochemistry. - : Springer. - 0168-2563 .- 1573-515X. ; 113:1-3, s. 545-561
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Soil carbon (C) fluxes, soil respiration and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leaching were explored along the young Damma glacier forefield chronosequence (7-128 years) over a three-year period. To gain insight into the sources of soil CO2 effluxes, radiocarbon signatures of respired CO2 were measured and a vegetation-clipping experiment was performed. Our results showed a clear increase in soil CO2 effluxes with increasing site age from 9 +/- A 1 to 160 +/- A 67 g CO2-C m(-2) year(-1), which was linked to soil C accumulation and development of vegetation cover. Seasonal variations of soil respiration were mainly driven by temperature; between 62 and 70 % of annual CO2 effluxes were respired during the 4-month long summer season. Sources of soil CO2 effluxes changed along the glacier forefield. For most recently deglaciated sites, radiocarbon-based age estimates indicated ancient C to be the dominant source of soil-respired CO2. At intermediate site age (58-78 years), the contribution of new plant-fixed C via rhizosphere respiration amounted up to 90 %, while with further soil formation, heterotrophically respired C probably from accumulated 'older' soil organic carbon (SOC) became increasingly important. In comparison with soil respiration, DOC leaching at 10 cm depth was small, but increased similarly from 0.4 +/- A 0.02 to 7.4 +/- A 1.6 g DOC m(-2) year(-1) over the chronosequence. A strong rise of the ratio of SOC to secondary iron and aluminium oxides strongly suggests that increasing DOC leaching with site age results from a faster increase of the DOC source, SOC, than of the DOC sink, reactive mineral surfaces. Overall, C losses from soil by soil respiration and DOC leaching increased from 9 +/- A 1 to 70 +/- A 17 and further to 168 +/- A 68 g C m(-2) year(-1) at the < 10, 58-78, and 110-128 year old sites. By comparison, total ecosystem C stocks increased from 0.2 to 1.1 and to 3.1 kg C m(-2) from the young to intermediate and old sites. Therefore, the ecosystem evolved from a dominance of C accumulation in the initial phase to a high throughput system. We suggest that the relatively strong increase in soil C stocks compared to C fluxes is a characteristic feature of initial soil formation on freshly exposed rocks.
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- Alkmim, M. H., et al.
(author)
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Model-based acoustic characterisation of muffler components and extrapolation to inhomogeneous thermal conditions
- 2018
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In: Proceedings of ISMA 2018 - International Conference on Noise and Vibration Engineering and USD 2018 - International Conference on Uncertainty in Structural Dynamics. - : KU Leuven - Departement Werktuigkunde. - 9789073802995 ; , s. 3009-3020
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A methodology for evaluating the acoustic behaviour of two-port inhomogeneous media in experimentally unavailable thermal conditions is proposed. The method consists of an inverse estimation of the geometrical and material properties of the object at room temperature followed by a forced thermal input. The properties of interest for the inverse estimation are the spatially-varying cross-section and/or bulk properties. The underlying model relies on a transfer matrix approach, allowing for a representation of spatially inhomogeneous objects as piece-wise equivalent homogeneous fluids, while ensuring continuity conditions between successive elements. A model of non-stationary thermal conduction is used as a first approximation, where an integral formulation accounts for the cumulative effect of multiple homogeneous elements. In order to evaluate the validity of the extrapolation, a validation against a fully numerical simulation is presented in two cases, namely a simple expansion chamber and a complex muffler.
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