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Retinol
Retinol, also called vitamin A1, is a fat-soluble vitamin in the vitamin A family found in food and used as a dietary supplement. As a supplement it is used to treat and prevent vitamin A deficiency, especially that which results in xerophthalmia. In regions where deficiency is common, a single large dose is recommended to those at high risk twice a year. It is also used to reduce the risk of complications in measles patients. It is taken by mouth or by injection into a muscle. Retinol at normal doses is well tolerated. High doses may cause enlargement of the liver, dry skin, and hypervitaminosis A. High doses during pregnancy may harm the fetus. The body converts retinol to retinal and retinoic acid, through which it acts. Dietary sources include fish, dairy products, and meat. Retinol was discovered in 1909, isolated in 1931, and first made in 1947. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. Retinol is available as a generic medication and ...
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Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and an essential nutrient for humans. It is a group of organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal (also known as retinaldehyde), retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably beta-carotene �-carotene. Vitamin A has multiple functions: it is essential for embryo development and growth, for maintenance of the immune system, and for vision, where it combines with the protein opsin to form rhodopsin the light-absorbing molecule necessary for both low-light ( scotopic vision) and color vision. Vitamin A occurs as two principal forms in foods: A) retinol, found in animal-sourced foods, either as retinol or bound to a fatty acid to become a retinyl ester, and B) the carotenoids alpha-carotene, β-carotene, gamma-carotene, and the xanthophyll beta-cryptoxanthin (all of which contain β-ionone rings) that function as provitamin A in herbivore and omnivore animals which possess the enzymes that cleave and con ...
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Hypervitaminosis A
Hypervitaminosis A refers to the toxic effects of ingesting too much preformed vitamin A (retinyl esters, retinol, and retinal). Symptoms arise as a result of altered bone metabolism and altered metabolism of other fat-soluble vitamins. Hypervitaminosis A is believed to have occurred in early humans, and the problem has persisted throughout human history. Toxicity results from ingesting too much preformed vitamin A from foods (such as fish liver or animal liver), supplements, or prescription medications and can be prevented by ingesting no more than the recommended daily amount. Diagnosis can be difficult, as serum retinol is not sensitive to toxic levels of vitamin A, but there are effective tests available. Hypervitaminosis A is usually treated by stopping intake of the offending food(s), supplement(s), or medication. Most people make a full recovery. High intake of provitamin carotenoids (such as beta-carotene) from vegetables and fruits does not cause hypervitaminosis A. ...
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Retinal
Retinal (also known as retinaldehyde) is a polyene chromophore. Retinal, bound to proteins called opsins, is the chemical basis of visual phototransduction, the light-detection stage of visual perception (vision). Some microorganisms use retinal to convert light into metabolic energy. In fact, a recent study suggests most living organisms on our planet ~3 billion years ago used retinal to convert sunlight into energy rather than chlorophyll. Since retinal absorbs mostly green light and transmits purple light, this gave rise to the Purple Earth Hypothesis. There are many forms of vitamin A — all of which are converted to retinal, which cannot be made without them. Retinal itself is considered to be a form of vitamin A when eaten by an animal. The number of different molecules that can be converted to retinal varies from species to species. Retinal was originally called retinene, and was renamed after it was discovered to be vitamin A aldehyde. Vertebrate animals ingest r ...
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Retinoic Acid
Retinoic acid (used simplified here for all-''trans''-retinoic acid) is a metabolite of vitamin A1 (all-''trans''- retinol) that mediates the functions of vitamin A1 required for growth and development. All-''trans''-retinoic acid is required in chordate animals, which includes all higher animals from fish to humans. During early embryonic development, all-''trans''-retinoic acid generated in a specific region of the embryo helps determine position along the embryonic anterior/posterior axis by serving as an intercellular signaling molecule that guides development of the posterior portion of the embryo. It acts through Hox genes, which ultimately control anterior/posterior patterning in early developmental stages. All-''trans''-retinoic acid (ATRA) is the major occurring retinoic acid, while isomers like 13-''cis''- and 9-''cis''-retinoic acid are also present in much lower levels. The key role of all-''trans''-retinoic acid in embryonic development mediates the high teratoge ...
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Vitamin A Deficiency
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) or hypovitaminosis A is a lack of vitamin A in blood and tissues. It is common in poorer countries, especially among children and women of reproductive age, but is rarely seen in more developed countries. Nyctalopia (night blindness) is one of the first signs of VAD, as the vitamin has a major role in phototransduction. Xerophthalmia, keratomalacia, and complete blindness can follow if the deficiency is more severe. Vitamin A deficiency is the world's leading cause of preventable childhood blindness, and is critical to achieving Millennium Development Goal 4 to reduce child mortality. About 250,000 to 500,000 malnourished children in the developing world go blind each year from a deficiency of vitamin A, around half of whom die within a year of becoming blind. The United Nations Special Session on Children in 2002 set a goal of the elimination of VAD by 2010. The prevalence of night blindness due to VAD is also high among pregnant women in many dev ...
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Carotene
The term carotene (also carotin, from the Latin ''carota'', "carrot") is used for many related unsaturated hydrocarbon substances having the formula C40Hx, which are synthesized by plants but in general cannot be made by animals (with the exception of some aphids and spider mites which acquired the synthesizing genes from fungi). Carotenes are photosynthetic pigments important for photosynthesis. Carotenes contain no oxygen atoms. They absorb ultraviolet, violet, and blue light and scatter orange or red light, and (in low concentrations) yellow light. Carotenes are responsible for the orange colour of the carrot, after which this class of chemicals is named, and for the colours of many other fruits, vegetables and fungi (for example, sweet potatoes, chanterelle and orange cantaloupe melon). Carotenes are also responsible for the orange (but not all of the yellow) colours in dry foliage. They also (in lower concentrations) impart the yellow coloration to milk-fat and butter. Om ...
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Carotenosis
Carotenosis is a benign and reversible medical condition where an excess of dietary carotenoids results in orange discoloration of the outermost skin layer. The discoloration is most easily observed in light-skinned people and may be mistaken for jaundice. Carotenoids are lipid-soluble compounds that include alpha- and beta-carotene, beta- cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. The primary serum carotenoids are beta-carotene, lycopene, and lutein. Serum levels of carotenoids vary between region, ethnicity, and sex in the healthy population. All are absorbed by passive diffusion from the gastrointestinal tract and are then partially metabolized in the intestinal mucosa and liver to vitamin A. From there they are transported in the plasma into the peripheral tissues. Carotenoids are eliminated via sweat, sebum, urine, and gastrointestinal secretions. Carotenoids contribute to normal-appearing human skin color, and are a significant component of physiologic ultraviolet pho ...
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Cod Liver Oil
Cod liver oil is a dietary supplement derived from liver of cod fish ( Gadidae). As with most fish oils, it contains the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and also vitamin A and vitamin D. Historically, it was given to children because vitamin D had been shown to prevent rickets, a consequence of vitamin D deficiency. Manufacture Cod liver oil has traditionally come in many grades. Cod liver oil for human consumption is pale and straw colored, with a mild flavor. Scandinavian Vikings produced cod liver oil by laying birch tree branches over a kettle of water, and fresh livers were laid over the branches. The water was brought to a boil and as the steam rose, the oil from the liver dripped into the water and was skimmed off. There was also a method for producing fresh raw cod liver oil. In the Industrial Revolution, cod liver oil became popular for industrial purposes. Livers placed in barrels to rot, with the oil skimmed off ...
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Vitamin
A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized in the organism, either at all or not in sufficient quantities, and therefore must be obtained through the diet. Vitamin C can be synthesized by some species but not by others; it is not a vitamin in the first instance but is in the second. The term ''vitamin'' does not include the three other groups of essential nutrients: minerals, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids. Most vitamins are not single molecules, but groups of related molecules called vitamers. For example, there are eight vitamers of vitamin E: four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Some sources list fourteen vitamins, by including choline, but major health organizations list thirteen: vitamin A (as all-''trans''- retinol, ...
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Xerophthalmia
Xerophthalmia (from Ancient Greek "xērós" (ξηρός) meaning "dry" and "ophthalmos" (οφθαλμός) meaning "eye") is a medical condition in which the eye fails to produce tears. It may be caused by vitamin A deficiency, which is sometimes used to describe that condition, although there may be other causes. Xerophthalmia caused by a severe vitamin A deficiency is described by pathologic dryness of the conjunctiva and cornea. The conjunctiva becomes dry, thick and wrinkled. The first symptom is poor vision at night. If untreated, xerophthalmia can lead to dry eye syndrome, corneal ulceration, and ultimately to blindness as a result of corneal and retinal damage. Xerophthalmia usually implies a destructive dryness of the conjunctival epithelium due to dietary vitamin A deficiency—a rare condition in developed countries, but still causing much damage in developing countries. Other forms of dry eye are associated with aging, poor lid closure, scarring from a previous i ...
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Xavier Mertz
Xavier Guillaume Mertz (6 October 1882 – 8 January 1913) was a Swiss polar explorer, mountaineer, and skier who took part in the Far Eastern Party, a 1912–1913 component of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, which claimed his life. Mertz Glacier on the George V Coast in East Antarctica is named after him. While a student, Mertz became active as a skier, competing in national competitions, and as a mountaineer, climbing many of the highest peaks in the Alps. In early 1911, Mertz was hired by geologist and explorer Douglas Mawson for his Antarctic expedition. He was initially employed as a ski instructor, but in Antarctica, Mertz instead joined Belgrave Edward Ninnis in the care of the expedition's Greenland huskies. In the summer of 1912–1913, Mertz and Ninnis were chosen by Mawson to accompany him on the Far Eastern Party, using the dogs to push rapidly from the expedition's base in Adélie Land towards Victoria Land. After Ninnis and a sledge carrying mo ...
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Switzerland
; rm, citad federala, links=no). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, St. Gallen a.o.). , coordinates = , largest_city = Zurich , official_languages = , englishmotto = "One for all, all for one" , religion_year = 2022 , religion_ref = , religion = , demonym = , german: link=no, Schweizer/Schweizerin, french: link=no, Suisse/Suissesse, it, svizzero/svizzera or , rm, Svizzer/Svizra , government_type = Federal assembly-independent directorial republic , leader_title1 = Federal Council , leader_name1 = , leader_title2 = , leader_name2 = Viktor Rossi , legislature = Federal Assembly , upper_house = Counci ...
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