Recent Studies on Berry Bioactives and Their Health-Promoting Roles

Along with the increased knowledge about the positive health effects of food bioactives, the eating habits of many individuals have changed to obtain higher nutritional benefits from foods. Fruits are among the most preferred food materials in this regard. In particular, berry fruits are important sources in the diet in terms of their high nutritional content including vitamins, minerals, and phenolic compounds. Berry fruits have remedial effects on several diseases and these health-promoting impacts are associated with their phenolic compounds which may vary depending on the type and variety of the fruit coupled with other factors including climate, agricultural conditions, etc. Most of the berries have outstanding beneficial roles in many body systems of humans such as gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, immune, and nervous systems. Furthermore, they are effective on some metabolic disorders and several types of cancer. In this review, the health-promoting effects of bioactive compounds in berry fruits are presented and the most recent in vivo, in vitro, and clinical studies are discussed from a food science and nutrition point of view.     

Nuclear orbiting and anomalies in nuclear reactions

In this paper, we report our measurements of back-angle oxygen and carbon particle yields from ¹⁶O+⁸⁹Y, ¹²C+⁹³Nb reactions forming the same compound nucleus ¹⁰⁵Ag at the same excitation energy and spin distribution. We find anomalously large oxygen yield and entrance channel dependence at high excitation energies from ¹⁶O+⁸⁹Y reaction implying formation of a dinuclear orbiting complex. Possible connection between nuclear orbiting and fast fission is also discussed.     

Specific rotation measurements from peak height data, with a Gaussian peak model

A method is described whereby a sensitive laser-based polarimeter can be used to make very accurate and precise specific rotation measurements on microgram quantities of optically active materials. Flow-injection or liquid chromatography systems provide reproducible introduction of the sample into the polarimetric system. If a Gaussian distribution of the analyte concentration is assumed, the peak height can be used in the determination of specific rotation. This method provides a direct calibration with an absolute standard which yields more accurate and precise results than those obtainable by using peak area.     

In silico targeting PAD4 for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Structural Chemistry - Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder that causes chronic inflammation with periodic bursts of activity in multiple synovial joints which lead to irreversible...     

Nuclear levels in 238Np

Low and high energy spectra from thermal neutron capture in ²³⁷Np have been studied over the energy ranges 25 to 650 keV and 2600 to 5500 keV. Primary transitions from neutron capture in four resonances have been observed between about 4800 and 5400 keV. Using 12 MeV deuterons, (d, p) spectra at three angles have been observed with a magnetic spectrograph. A nuclear level scheme for ²³⁸Np has been constructed by combining the results of the above measurements with previous data from a study of the ^242mAm α-decay. The Nilsson model has been used to interpret the level structure. Including results from the previous α-decay study, nine rotational bands can be assigned. The Nilsson configurations (K^π [Nn₃ΛΣ]) and band-head energies are: 2⁺π[642↑]?ν[631↓], 0.0 keV; 3⁺π[642↑]+ν[631↓], 86.6 keV; 3^?π[523↓]+ν[631↓], 136.0 keV; 2^?π[523↓]?ν[631↓], 182.8 keV; 5⁺π[642↑]+ν[622↑], 278.1 keV; 0⁺π[642↑]?ν[622↑], 332.5 keV; 5^?π[523↓]+ν[622↑], 342.6 keV; 0^?π[523↓]?ν[622↑], 286.0 keV; 6^?π[642↑]+ν[743↑], 301 keV. The measured (d, p) reaction cross sections are compared with theoretical calculations based on these assignments. The Gallagher-Moszkowski rule is found to be valid in the four cases where we have observed both parallel and antiparallel coupled bands with $\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{= Ω}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>p</mtext>}}\text{+Ω}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>n</mtext>}}$ and $\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{= |Ω}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>p</mtext>}}\text{?Ω}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>p</mtext>}}\text{|}$. The lowest levels of the two K = 0 bands have spin I = 1; Newby odd-even shifts can be determined in both cases.