University of Seville

About: University of Seville is a education organization based out in Seville, Andalucía, Spain. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 20098 authors who have published 47317 publications receiving 947007 citations. The organization is also known as: Universidad de Sevilla.

Distribution and biological activities of the flavonoid luteolin.

Abstract: Epidemiological evidence suggests that flavonoids may play an important role in the decreased risk of chronic diseases associated with a diet rich in plant-derived foods. Flavonoids are also common constituents of plants used in traditional medicine to treat a wide range of diseases. The purpose of this article is to summarize the distribution and biological activities of one of the most common flavonoids: luteolin. This flavonoid and its glycosides are widely distributed in the plant kingdom; they are present in many plant families and have been identified in Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, Pinophyta and Magnoliophyta. Dietary sources of luteolin include, for instance, carrots, peppers, celery, olive oil, peppermint, thyme, rosemary and oregano. Preclinical studies have shown that this flavone possesses a variety of pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anticancer activities. The ability of luteolin to inhibit angiogenesis, to induce apoptosis, to prevent carcinogenesis in animal models, to reduce tumor growth in vivo and to sensitize tumor cells to the cytotoxic effects of some anticancer drugs suggests that this flavonoid has cancer chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic potential. Modulation of ROS levels, inhibition of topoisomerases I and II, reduction of NF-kappaB and AP-1 activity, stabilization of p53, and inhibition of PI3K, STAT3, IGF1R and HER2 are possible mechanisms involved in the biological activities of luteolin.

Role of bianisotropy in negative permeability and left-handed metamaterials

Abstract: The recently proposed artificial media with negative magnetic permeability and left-handed metamaterials are revisited at the light of the theory of artificial bi(iso/aniso)tropic media. In particular, the existence of bianisotropic effects in those materials is investigated, making use of an approximate model. Some unexplained properties of the electromagnetic-wave propagation through these media, revealed by closer inspection of previous numerical simulations and experimental work, are highlighted. It is shown that these peculiarities are properly explained if the bianisotropy is explicitly accounted for. The bianisotropy is related to the existence of magnetoelectric coupling in the artificial constituents (artificial atoms) of the medium. A simple modification of the artificial atom that precludes the bianisotropy is also proposed.

Unresponsive wakefulness syndrome: a new name for the vegetative state or apallic syndrome

Abstract: Some patients awaken from coma (that is, open the eyes) but remain unresponsive (that is, only showing reflex movements without response to command). This syndrome has been coined vegetative state. We here present a new name for this challenging neurological condition: unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (abbreviated UWS). Many clinicians feel uncomfortable when referring to patients as vegetative. Indeed, to most of the lay public and media vegetative state has a pejorative connotation and seems inappropriately to refer to these patients as being vegetable-like. Some political and religious groups have hence felt the need to emphasize these vulnerable patients' rights as human beings. Moreover, since its first description over 35 years ago, an increasing number of functional neuroimaging and cognitive evoked potential studies have shown that physicians should be cautious to make strong claims about awareness in some patients without behavioral responses to command. Given these concerns regarding the negative associations intrinsic to the term vegetative state as well as the diagnostic errors and their potential effect on the treatment and care for these patients (who sometimes never recover behavioral signs of consciousness but often recover to what was recently coined a minimally conscious state) we here propose to replace the name. Since after 35 years the medical community has been unsuccessful in changing the pejorative image associated with the words vegetative state, we think it would be better to change the term itself. We here offer physicians the possibility to refer to this condition as unresponsive wakefulness syndrome or UWS. As this neutral descriptive term indicates, it refers to patients showing a number of clinical signs (hence syndrome) of unresponsiveness (that is, without response to commands) in the presence of wakefulness (that is, eye opening).

Type I interferons and microbial metabolites of tryptophan modulate astrocyte activity and central nervous system inflammation via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor

Abstract: After upregulation of AHR in astrocytes by type I interferons, commensal-microbe-derived metabolites of dietary tryptophan act on astrocytes to suppress CNS inflammation.