University of Madeira

About: University of Madeira is a education organization based out in Funchal, Portugal. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Dendrimer. The organization has 1014 authors who have published 2759 publications receiving 59457 citations.

The Associations of Dyadic Coping and Relationship Satisfaction Vary between and within Nations: A 35-Nation Study

Abstract: Objective: Theories about how couples help each other to cope with stress, such as the systemic transactional model of dyadic coping, suggest that the cultural context in which couples live influences how their coping behavior affects their relationship satisfaction. In contrast to the theoretical assumptions, a recent meta-analysis provides evidence that neither culture, nor gender, influences the association between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction, at least based on their samples of couples living in North America and West Europe. Thus, it is an open questions whether the theoretical assumptions of cultural influences are false or whether cultural influences on couple behavior just occur in cultures outside of the Western world. Method: In order to examine the cultural influence, using a sample of married individuals (N = 7,973) from 35 nations, we used multilevel modeling to test whether the positive association between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction varies across nations and whether gender might moderate the association. Results: Results reveal that the association between dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction varies between nations. In addition, results show that in some nations the association is higher for men and in other nations it is higher for women. Conclusions: Cultural and gender differences across the globe influence how couples’ coping behavior affects relationship outcomes. This crucial finding indicates that couple relationship education programs and interventions need to be culturally adapted, as skill trainings such as dyadic coping lead to differential effects on relationship satisfaction based on the culture in which couples live.

Bioactive Compounds Effective Against Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review

Abstract: BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes (adult onset diabetes) is the most common type of diabetes, accounting for around 90% of all diabetes cases with insulin resistance and insulin secretion defect. The key goal of anti-diabetic therapy is to increase the development of insulin, immunity and/or decrease the amount of blood glucose. While many synthetic compounds have been produced as antidiabetic agents, due to their side effects and limited effectiveness, their usefulness has been hindered. METHODS This systematic review investigated the bioactive compounds reported to possess activities against type 2 diabetes. Three (3) databases, PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar were searched for research articles published between January 2010 and October 2020. A total of 6464 articles were identified out of which 84 articles were identified to be elligible for the study. RESULT AND DISCUSSION From the data extracted, it was found that quercetin, Kaempferol, Rosmarinic acid, Cyanidin, Rutin, Catechin, Luteolin and Ellagic acid were the most cited bioactive compounds which all falls within the class of polyphenolic compounds. The major sources of these bioactive compounds includes citrus fruits, grapes, onions, berries, cherries, broccoli, honey, apples, green tea, Ginkgo biloba, St. John's wort, green beans, cucumber, spinach, tea, Rosmarinus officinalis, Aloe vera, Moringa oleifera, tomatoes, potatoes, oregano, lemon balm, thyme, peppermint, Ocimum basilicum, red cabbage, pears, olive oil and walnut.

Partially PEGylated dendrimer-entrapped gold nanoparticles: a promising nanoplatform for highly efficient DNA and siRNA delivery

Abstract: Exploring a plasmid DNA (pDNA)/small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery vector with excellent biocompatibility and high gene transfection efficiency still remains a great challenge. In this research, generation 5 (G5) dendrimer-entrapped gold nanoparticles (Au DENPs) partially modified with polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether (mPEG) were designed as non-viral pDNA/siRNA delivery vectors. The pDNA that can encode luciferase (Luc) or enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and the Bcl-2 siRNA that can knockdown the expression of the Bcl-2 protein were successfully packaged by the partially PEGylated Au DENPs and effectively delivered into HeLa cells. The length of the surface conjugated mPEG chains and the composition of the entrapped Au NPs were systematically altered to explore their influences on the structure, cytotoxicity, and pDNA or siRNA delivery efficiency. We show that the modified mPEG and entrapped Au NPs can significantly improve the encoding of Luc and EGFP or silence the Bcl-2 protein expression, and the {(Au0)50-G5.NH2-mPEG2K} DENPs display the best DNA or siRNA delivery efficiency among all the designed partially PEGylated Au DENPs. The Luc transfection efficiency of the {(Au0)50-G5.NH2-mPEG2K} was about 292 times higher than that of the G5.NH2 dendrimers at an N/P ratio of 5 : 1, and the Bcl-2 protein was silenced to 15% using the {(Au0)50-G5.NH2-mPEG2K} as a vector relative to the expression level transfected using the G5.NH2 dendrimers (100%). With enhanced pDNA/siRNA transfection efficiency and less cytotoxicity, the PEGylated Au DENPs may hold great promise to be used in pDNA and siRNA delivery applications.