In this study, we aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Opuntia ficus-indica cactus cladode extracts in microglia BV-2 cells. Inflammation associated with microglia activation in neuronal injury can be achieved by LPS exposure. Using four different structurally and biologically well-characterized LPS serotypes, we revealed a structure-related differential effect ...

In this paper we consider the variational approach to cactus trees (Husimi trees) and the more common recursive approach, that are in principle equivalent for finite systems. We discuss in detail the conditions under which the two methods are equivalent also in the analysis of infinite (self-similar) cactus trees, usually investigated to the purpose of approximating ordinary lattice systems. Su...

Multiple biological structures have demonstrated fog collection abilities, such as beetle backs with bumps and spider silks with periodic spindle-knots and joints. Many Cactaceae species live in arid environments and are extremely drought-tolerant. Here we report that one of the survival systems of the cactus Opuntia microdasys lies in its efficient fog collection system. This unique system is ...

We study the online file allocation problem on ring networks. In this paper, we present a 7-competitive randomized algorithm against an adaptive online adversary on uniform cactus graphs. The algorithm is deterministic if the file size is 1. Moreover, we obtain lower bounds of 4.25 and 3.833 for a deterministic algorithm and a randomized algorithm against an adaptive online adversary, respectiv...

In this paper we present the first automatically constructed LASCO CME catalog, a result of the application of the Computer Aided CME Tracking software (CACTus) on the LASCO archive during the interval September 1997-January 2007. We have studied the CME characteristics and have compared them with similar results obtained by manual detection (CDAW CME catalog). On average CACTus detects less th...

Betacyanin (betanin), total phenolics, vitamin C and antioxidant capacity (by Trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays) were investigated in two differently colored cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill.) genotypes, one with purple fruit and the other with orange fruit, from the Salento area, in Apulia (South Italy). In order to qu...

The Cactus parallel simulation framework provides a modular and extensible set of components for solving relativity problems on parallel computers. In recent work, we have investigated techniques that would enable the execution of Cactus applications in wide area \computational grid" environments. In a rst study, we investigated the feasibility of distributing a single simulation across multipl...

Cactus Code is an open source framework designed primarily for scientists and engineers, in which the core or “flesh” acts as a central unit to which external modules or “thorns” can interface. Cactus is used on many different architectures and can be used to implement different codes from various disciplines. While initially developed for solving problems in numerical relativity, it has since ...

Drosophila mercatorum is a sexual species that can reproduce parthenogenetically in the laboratory. A previous study showed that a natural population of D. mercatorum inhabiting the Kamuela garbage dump on the Island of Hawaii could produce both viable parthenogenetic adults and self-sustaining parthenogenetic lines. The present study deals with a second screen for parthenogenesis and an isozym...

The Hippo signaling pathway functions through Yorkie to control tissue growth and homeostasis. How this pathway regulates non-developmental processes remains largely unexplored. Here, we report an essential role for Hippo signaling in innate immunity whereby Yorkie directly regulates the transcription of the Drosophila IκB homolog, Cactus, in Toll receptor-mediated antimicrobial response. Loss ...