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Destroying Angel
The name destroying angel applies to several similar, closely related species of deadly all-white mushrooms in the genus ''Amanita''. They are ''Amanita bisporigera'' and '' A. ocreata'' in eastern and western North America, respectively, and '' A. virosa'' in Europe. Another European species of ''Amanita'' referred to as the destroying angel, ''Amanita verna'' - also referred to as the 'Fool's mushroom' - was first described in France in 1780. Destroying angels are among the most toxic known mushrooms; both they and the closely related death caps (''A. phalloides'') contain amatoxins. Description Destroying angels are characterized by having a white stalk and gills. The cap can be pure white, or white at the edge and yellowish, pinkish, or tan at the center. It has a partial veil, or ring (annulus) circling the upper stalk, and the gills are "free", not attached to the stalk. Perhaps the most telltale of the features is the presence of a volva, or universal veil, so calle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, ''Agaricus bisporus''; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi ( Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) that have a stem ( stipe), a cap ( pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap. "Mushroom" also describes a variety of other gilled fungi, with or without stems, therefore the term is used to describe the fleshy fruiting bodies of some Ascomycota. These gills produce microscopic spores that help the fungus spread across the ground or its occupant surface. Forms deviating from the standard morphology usually have more specific names, such as "bolete", "puffball", "stinkhorn", and " morel", and gilled mushrooms themselves are often called "agarics" in refere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puffball
Puffballs are a type of fungus featuring a ball-shaped fruit body that bursts on impact, releasing a cloud of dust-like spores when mature. Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass several genera, including ''Calvatia'', ''Calbovista'' and ''Lycoperdon''. The puffballs were previously treated as a taxonomic group called the Gasteromycetes or Gasteromycetidae, but they are now known to be a polyphyletic assemblage. The distinguishing feature of all puffballs is that they do not have an open cap with spore-bearing gills. Instead, spores are produced internally, in a spheroidal fruit body called a ''gasterothecium'' (gasteroid 'stomach-like' basidiocarp). As the spores mature, they form a mass called a gleba in the centre of the fruitbody that is often of a distinctive color and texture. The basidiocarp remains closed until after the spores have been released from the basidia. Eventually, it develops an aperture, or dries, becomes brittle, and splits, and the spo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mycopathologia
''Mycopathologia'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that covers the role of fungi in human and animal disease, i.e., medical and veterinary mycology. The journal was established in 1938 and is currently published by Springer Link. The current editor-in-chief is Vishnu Chaturvedi (California Department of Public Health / University of California, Berkeley). History The journal was initially established by Wilhelm Junk in The Hague as ''Mycopathologia'' () in 1938. Then in 1950, it continued publication under the name ''Mycopathologia & Mycologia Applicata'' (), before returning to ''Mycopathologia'' () in 1975. From 1959 to 1984, a supplement ''Iconographia Mycologica'' () was published alongside it. Abstracting and indexing ''Mycopathologia'' is abstracted and indexed An abstracting service is a service that provides abstracts of publications, often on a subject or group of related subjects, usually on a subscription basis. An indexing service is a service that assigns desc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silibinin
Silibinin ( INN), also known as silybin (both from ''Silybum'', the generic name of the plant from which it is extracted), is the major active constituent of silymarin, a standardized extract of the milk thistle seeds, containing a mixture of flavonolignans consisting of silibinin, isosilibinin, silychristin, silidianin, and others. Silibinin itself is a mixture of two diastereomers, silybin A and silybin B, in approximately equimolar ratio. The mixture exhibits a number of pharmacological effects, particularly in the fatty liver, non-alcoholic fatty liver, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, and there is great clinical evidence for the use of silibinin as a supportive element in alcoholic and Child–Pugh grade 'A' liver cirrhosis. However, despite its several beneficial effects on the liver, silibinin and all the other compounds found in silymarin, especially silychristin seem to act as potent disruptors of the thyroid system by blocking the MCT8 transporter. The long term in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lipoic Acid
Lipoic acid (LA), also known as α-lipoic acid, alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) and thioctic acid, is an organosulfur compound derived from caprylic acid (octanoic acid). ALA is made in animals normally, and is essential for aerobic metabolism. It is also manufactured and is available as a dietary supplement in some countries where it is marketed as an antioxidant, and is available as a pharmaceutical drug in other countries. Lipoate is the conjugate base of lipoic acid, and the most prevalent form of LA under physiological conditions. Only the (''R'')-(+)-enantiomer (RLA) exists in nature and is essential for aerobic metabolism because RLA is an essential cofactor of many enzyme complexes. Physical and chemical properties Lipoic acid (LA), also known as α-lipoic acid, alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), and thioctic acid is an organosulfur compound derived from octanoic acid. LA contains two sulfur atoms (at C6 and C8) connected by a disulfide bond and is thus considered to be oxidized althou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hemoperfusion
Hemoperfusion or hæmoperfusion (see spelling differences) is a method of filtering the blood extracorporeally (that is, outside the body) to remove a toxin. As with other extracorporeal methods, such as hemodialysis (HD), hemofiltration (HF), and hemodiafiltration (HDF), the blood travels from the patient into a machine, gets filtered, and then travels back into the patient, typically by venovenous access (out of a vein and back into a vein). In hemoperfusion, the blood perfuses a filter composed of artificial cells filled with activated carbon or another microporous material. Small molecules in solution within the serum (such as the toxin) cross the membranes into the microporous material (and get trapped therein), but formed elements (the blood cells) brush past the artificial cells just as they brush past each other. In this way, the microporous material's filtering ability can be used without destroying the blood cells. First introduced in the 1940s, hemoperfusion was re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hemodialysis
Hemodialysis, also spelled haemodialysis, or simply dialysis, is a process of purifying the blood of a person whose kidneys are not working normally. This type of dialysis achieves the extracorporeal removal of waste products such as creatinine and urea and free water from the blood when the kidneys are in a state of kidney failure. Hemodialysis is one of three renal replacement therapies (the other two being kidney transplant and peritoneal dialysis). An alternative method for extracorporeal separation of blood components such as plasma or cells is apheresis. Hemodialysis can be an outpatient or inpatient therapy. Routine hemodialysis is conducted in a dialysis outpatient facility, either a purpose-built room in a hospital or a dedicated, stand-alone clinic. Less frequently hemodialysis is done at home. Dialysis treatments in a clinic are initiated and managed by specialized staff made up of nurses and technicians; dialysis treatments at home can be self-initiated and managed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lactulose
Lactulose is a non-absorbable sugar used in the treatment of constipation and hepatic encephalopathy. It is used by mouth for constipation and either by mouth or in the rectum for hepatic encephalopathy. It generally begins working after 8–12 hours, but may take up to 2 days to improve constipation. Common side effects include abdominal bloating and cramps. A potential exists for electrolyte problems as a result of the diarrhea it produces. No evidence of harm to the baby has been found when used during pregnancy. It is generally regarded as safe during breastfeeding. It is classified as an osmotic laxative. Lactulose was first made in 1929, and has been used medically since the 1950s. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. It is available as a generic and brand-name product. Lactulose is made from the milk sugar lactose, which is composed of two simple sugars, galactose and glucose. History In 1957, Peitele discovered that lactulose is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Activated Carbon
Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, is a form of carbon commonly used to filter contaminants from water and air, among many other uses. It is processed (activated) to have small, low-volume pores that increase the surface area available for adsorption (which is not the same as absorption) or chemical reactions. Activation is analogous to making popcorn from dried corn kernels: popcorn is light, fluffy, and has a surface area that is much larger than the kernels. ''Activated'' is sometimes replaced by ''active''. Due to its high degree of microporosity, one gram of activated carbon has a surface area in excess of as determined by gas adsorption. Charcoal, before activation, has a specific surface area in the range of . An activation level sufficient for useful application may be obtained solely from high surface area. Further chemical treatment often enhances adsorption properties. Activated carbon is usually derived from waste products such as coconut husks; waste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RNA Polymerase III
In eukaryote cells, RNA polymerase III (also called Pol III) is a protein that transcribes DNA to synthesize ribosomal 5S rRNA, tRNA and other small RNAs. The genes transcribed by RNA Pol III fall in the category of "housekeeping" genes whose expression is required in all cell types and most environmental conditions. Therefore, the regulation of Pol III transcription is primarily tied to the regulation of cell growth and the cell cycle, thus requiring fewer regulatory proteins than RNA polymerase II. Under stress conditions however, the protein Maf1 represses Pol III activity. Rapamycin is another Pol III inhibitor via its direct target TOR. Transcription The process of transcription (by any polymerase) involves three main stages: *Initiation, requiring construction of the RNA polymerase complex on the gene's promoter *Elongation, the synthesis of the RNA transcript *Termination, the finishing of RNA transcription and disassembly of the RNA polymerase complex Initiation In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RNA Polymerase II
RNA polymerase II (RNAP II and Pol II) is a multiprotein complex that transcribes DNA into precursors of messenger RNA (mRNA) and most small nuclear RNA (snRNA) and microRNA. It is one of the three RNAP enzymes found in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. A 550 kDa complex of 12 subunits, RNAP II is the most studied type of RNA polymerase. A wide range of transcription factors are required for it to bind to upstream gene promoters and begin transcription. Discovery Early studies suggested a minimum of two RNAPs: one which synthesized rRNA in the nucleolus, and one which synthesized other RNA in the nucleoplasm, part of the nucleus but outside the nucleolus. In 1969, science experimentalists Robert Roeder and William Rutter definitively discovered an additional RNAP that was responsible for transcription of some kind of RNA in the nucleoplasm. The finding was obtained by the use of ion-exchange chromatography via DEAE coated Sephadex beads. The technique separated the enzymes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mushroom Poisoning
Mushroom poisoning is poisoning resulting from the ingestion of mushrooms that contain toxic substances. Its symptoms can vary from slight gastrointestinal discomfort to death in about 10 days. Mushroom toxins are secondary metabolites produced by the fungus. Mushroom poisoning is usually the result of ingestion of wild mushrooms after misidentification of a toxic mushroom as an edible species. The most common reason for this misidentification is a close resemblance in terms of color and general morphology of the toxic mushrooms species with edible species. To prevent mushroom poisoning, mushroom gatherers familiarize themselves with the mushrooms they intend to collect, as well as with any similar-looking toxic species. The safety of eating wild mushrooms may depend on methods of preparation for cooking. Signs and symptoms Poisonous mushrooms contain a variety of different toxins that can differ markedly in toxicity. Symptoms of mushroom poisoning may vary from gastric upset t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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