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This paper explores the connection between scent and well-being (eudaimonia) in some ancient Greek and Roman sources. Focusing on the metaphor of the 'perfumer's garden' — the blend of scents in ancient perfumes used to evoke faraway lands like Arabia Felix or Egypt — the paper discusses how these aromatic creations communicate more than the fragrance of the gardens they come from. Believed to possess medicinal properties mirroring their plant sources, perfumes offer a unique window into health and social life. While all classes sought well-being through scent, specific perfumes varied based on factors like social status and gender. This work focuses on these variations, examining medical and philosophical texts about the relation of scent and health alongside literary case studies: Herodian's account of remedies used during the Antonine Plague, where class dictated perfume choice, and the use of Egyptian-inspired scents during the Hellenistic period, which expresses differences between men and women. In exploring these aromatic landscapes, we uncover a complexity where the essence of gardens and their fragrances reveal more than attempts at using scent to secure health; they show themselves to be rich sources of symbolic meaning reflecting the values and aspirations of ancient authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the process of reconstructing the scents of two perfumes used to prevent the plague during the reign of Marcus Aurelius and his son Commodus, as recorded by Herodian. Scent reconstructions have recently been proposed as a way of interpreting and presenting texts, similar to how visual figures have been traditionally used. However, issues of production, distribution, and scholarly methods and standards of evaluation are in flux and being refined. We began with the recent model published by Marx et al. from the Odeuropa project. Adapting their model required us to present and contrast two scents rather than one, and unlike Marx et al., we did not have detailed ancient recipes to work from. Therefore, we chose to interpret the contrast Herodian suggests rather than strive for strict historical accuracy of the two scents. Here, we present the texts we used and outline the methods and challenges involved when producing this olfactory interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The patent paradox is the over-valuing of patent protection by industry participants despite data showing that patents have low value, and thus must not be an efficient means of [...]

The effects of cold exposure on changes in muscle uncoupling protein-3 (UCP-3) and GLUT-4 messenger RNAs and the expression of GLUT-4 co-resident proteins were studied to illustrate the influence of UCP-3 in skeletal muscle as a regulator of adaptive thermogenesis and energy balance. Findings indicated that the two proteins exhibited almost identical response in skeletal muscles. However, cold exposure did not significantly affect the expression of GLUT-4 coproteins such as sortilin and transferrin receptor protein.

Cleopatra VII, the last of the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt, reveled in perfume (Plutarch, Life of Marcus Antonius 26.2). She even used it in her seduction of the Roman general Marc Antony. Sailing up the river Cydnus to meet him, she reclined in a canopy spangled with gold, adorned like Venus in a painting. Boys dressed as cupids fanned her and wondrous scents from incense offerings wafted along the riverbanks. Not long after her death in August 30 BCE, a book circulated under her name called Cleopatra's Cosmetic, full of recipes for fragrant oils and cleansers (Totelin 2017 : 114–18). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UCP-3 expression in skeletal muscle: effects of exercise, hypoxia, and AMP-activated protein kinase. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 279: E622-E629, 2000.--Uncoupling protein 3 (UCP-3), a member of the mitochondrial transporter superfamily, is expressed primarily in skeletal muscle where it may play a role in altering metabolic function under conditions of fuel depletion caused, for example, by fasting and exercise. Here, we show that treadmill running by rats rapidly (30 min) induces skeletal muscle UCP-3 mRNA expression (sevenfold after 200 min), as do hypoxia and swimming in a comparably rapid and substantial fashion. The expression of the mitochondrial transporters, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 and the tricarboxylate carrier, is unaffected under these conditions. Hypoxia and exercise-mediated induction of UCP-3 mRNA result in a corresponding four- to sixfold increase in rat UCP-3 protein. We treated extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle with 5'-amino-4-imidazolecarboxamide ribonucleoside (AICAR), a compound that activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an enzyme known to be stimulated during exercise and hypoxia. Incubation of rat EDL muscle in vitro for 30 min with 2 mM AICAR causes a threefold increase in UCP-3 mRNA and a 1.5-fold increase of UCP-3 protein compared with untreated muscle. These data are consistent with the notion that activation of AMPK, presumably as a result of fuel depletion, rapidly regulates UCP-3 gene expression. adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase; 5'-amino-4-imidazolecarboxamide ribonucleoside; rats

Part I. Looks at the first section of the Critical Reading question (CRQ) paper, providing some of the typical examples of questions that have appeared in some examinations. Type of questions chosen by the examiners; Topics appearing in the Reading and Current Practice Section at the CRQ since 1994; Range of answers and their marks; Why the paper was introduced; Role of general practitioners in the prehospital management of suspected MI; How to prepare for the questions.