Forest fires have an immediate effect on mortality, not associated with accidental deaths, which is a significant public health problem, especially if the fire occurs near a densely populated area.
A self-organising software architecture is one in which components automatically configure their interaction in a way that is compatible with an overall architectural specification. The objective is to minimise the degree of explicit management necessary for construction and subsequent evolution whilst preserving the architectural properties implied by its specification. This paper examines the feasibility of using architectural constraints as the basis for the specification, design and implementation of self-organising architectures for distributed systems. Although we focus on organising the structure of systems, we show how component state can influence reconfiguration via interface attributes.
CMG has a significant lowering effect on total cholesterol and glucose levels of healthy volunteers, with excellent tolerance and no detectable side effects, especially in overweight and obese individuals.
Chios mastic gum (MG), a resin produced from Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia, is reported to possess beneficial cardiovascular and hepatoprotective properties. This study investigated the effect of crude Chios MG on metabolic parameters in diabetic mice. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic 12-week-old male C57bl/6 mice were assigned to three groups: NC (n=9) control; LdM (n=9) animals receiving low dose mastic for 8 weeks (20 mg/kg body weight [BW]); and HdM (n=9) animals receiving high dose mastic (500 mg/kg BW) for the same period. Serum lipid and glucose levels were determined at baseline, at 4 and 8 weeks. Serum total protein, adiponectin, and resistin levels were also measured at the end of the experiment. Histopathological examination for liver, kidney, aorta, and heart lesions was performed. After 4 weeks, MG administration resulted in decreased serum glucose and triglyceride levels in both LdM and HdM, whereas BW levels were reduced in LdM group compared with controls. At the end of the experiment, LdM presented significantly lower serum glucose, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride levels and improved high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels compared with control group. HdM group had ameliorated serum triglyceride levels. Hepatic steatosis observed in control group was partially reversed in LdM and HdM groups. MG administered in low dosages improves glucose and lipid disturbances in diabetic mice while alleviating hepatic damage.
For thousands of years, Chios Gum Mastic (CGM), the resin produced by the trunk of Pistachia lentiscus var Chia, has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes and several therapeutic properties have been attributed to it. CGM has been used in traditional medicine of various nations in the eastern Mediterranean area. This survey was carried out to identify biological mechanisms that could explain traditional usage and recent pharmacological findings. We reviewed the related scientific literature available from the NCBI PUBMED database on CGM studies and on natural products showing peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonist effects. We investigated whether CGM qualifies as a PPAR modulator. A large number of studies demonstrate that CGM has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, and anticancer properties. Recently, the first evidence of CGM antidiabetic effect became known. CGM chemical composition has been extensively analyzed and the presence of several compounds, especially triterpenoids is well documented. Some of them, oleanonic acid, oleanolic acid, and gallic acid are considered to act as PPAR modulators. PPARs are nuclear receptors functioning as transcription factors and thereby controlling cellular functions at the level of gene expression. PPARs are involved in the pathways of significant diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, inflammation, atheromatosis, and neoplasias, constituting a key target for pharmacological interventions. This article proposes that the synergistic action of some constituents of CGM on PPARs and more precisely on both PPARs isotypes-α and -γ, may be one of the major biological mechanisms via which CGM exerts its multiple effects.
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