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The Arousal Drug of Choice: Sources and Consumption of Caffeine
Published in Barry D. Smith, Uma Gupta, B.S. Gupta, Caffeine and Activation Theory, 2006
Barry D. Smith, Thom White, Rachel Shapiro
Tea leaves for the production of green tea are handled with special care because preservation of the healthy, natural, active substances in the fresh leaves is essential for the tea to be at its best (see chapter 14 in this volume for a review of the scientific literature on the potential benefits of tea). After picking, the leaves are set out in hot air to wither and then usually pan fried to prevent oxidation or fermentation. Otherwise, this chemical process produces polyphenic bodies, which lead to color and flavor changes in the tea. The more oxidation that takes place, the darker and more pungent the tea is. Once fried, the leaves are rolled, giving them a twisted, curly, or balled appearance and increasing their durability. This process also helps regulate release of natural substances during steeping.
Significance of DopEcR, a G-protein coupled dopamine/ecdysteroid receptor, in physiological and behavioral response to stressors
Published in Journal of Neurogenetics, 2020
Emily Petruccelli, Arianna Lark, James A. Mrkvicka, Toshihiro Kitamoto
Phase polyphenism is a phenomenon where animals of a single species undergo great phenotypic changes in response to environmental cues (Applebaum & Heifetz, 1999). In the case of the migratory locust Locusta migratoria, increased population density drives a transformation from the solitarious to gregarious phase within a generation with marked metabolic and neurobiological changes, resulting in their dark coloration, swarming, and dramatic mass migrations which can lead to terrible agricultural losses (Gray, Sword, Anstey, Clissold, & Simpson, 2009). This transformation involves changes in both transcription of catecholamine-related genes (Ma, Guo, Guo, Wang, & Kang, 2011) and ecdysteroids titer (Tawfik & Sehnal, 2003). DopEcR was upregulated in gregarious-phase locusts compared to solitarious-phase locusts (Chen et al., 2010). While the exact role of DopEcR in the phase transformation is unclear, its upregulation in the gregarious phase together with changes in ecdysteroid levels indicates that ecdysone signaling through DopEcR may play a role in helping locusts properly manage their phenotypic responses to a high-density environment, which is considered socially stressful for locusts (Roessingh, Bouaı¨Chi, & Simpson, 1998; Simpson, Despland, Hagele, & Dodgson, 2001).