Moisture Stability of Maltodextrin-Based Delivery Systems

The water sorption isotherms are exploited here for maltodextrin-based perfume-delivery systems with the aim of predicting water vapor stability of the samples at a given temperature. A combination of Couchman (glass-transition temperature) and Guggenheim-Anderson-deBoer (GAB) (fraction of water condensed) models is shown demonstrating important information hidden in a simple sorption experiment (rate of loss of perfume by diffusion and capacity to retain volatiles under humid air conditions). Pure maltodextrin and maltodextrin loaded with apolar and polar perfume components are treated using the same developed methodology. It is shown that apolar molecule release from classical carbohydrate spray dry particles follows a zero-order kinetic. This poster was presented at the 2nd International Symposium on Delivery of Functionality in Complex Food Systems, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA. October 8th to 10th, 2007.     

A simple chemical method for synthesizing malonyl hemiesters of 21-hydroxypregnanes, potential intermediates in cardenolide biosynthesis

A simple and versatile method for the chemical synthesis of 21-hydroxypregnane 21-O-malonyl hemiesters which may be important intermediates of cardenolide biosynthesis is described. Starting from commercial beta-methyldigitoxin, acid hydrolysis followed by 3beta-O-acetylation and ozonolysis with reductive cleavage of the ozonides afforded 3beta-acetoxy-5beta-pregnane-14beta,21-diol-20-one which was finally converted into the target compound by treatment with malonyl chloride. The malonylation protocol was optimized using deoxycorticosterone (DOC) as the pregnane educt.     

Does Liebig's law of the minimum scale up from species to communities?

Liebig's law of the minimum, which states that only one element limits the growth of organisms at any given time, is widely used in ecology. This principle is routinely applied to organisms, populations and communities, but can it really be applied indistinguishably across these different scales? Here we show, by prediction of a resource ratio conceptual model and with an experimental test carried out in microcosms with bacteria that, unlike single species, communities are likely to adjust their stoichiometry to that of their resources. This adjustment results from competitive exclusion and coexistence mechanisms, and is sensitive to the overall diversity of species in the community. It guaranties co‐limitation, i.e. simultaneous limitation by multiple resources, at the community scale and optimal use of resources and maximization of community biomass for wide ranges of resource ratios. These results question the applicability of the Liebig's law of the minimum at the community level, and the relevance of ecosystem models relying on this principle.     

Bleomycin-induced double-strand breaks in mitochondrial DNA of Drosophila cells are repaired

Mitochondrial DNA lesions cause numerous human diseases, and it is therefore important to identify the mechanisms whereby the mitochondrion repairs the damage. We have studied in cultured Drosophila cells the repair of bleomycin-induced double-strand breaks (DSBs) in mitochondrial DNA. Our results show that DSBs are repaired as rapidly and effectively in the mitochondria as in the nucleus. DNA repair is complete within 2h following bleomycin treatment, showing that Drosophila mitochondria have an effective system of DSB repair. The mechanism and mitochondrial proteins involved remain to be identified.     

Replication of butterfly wing and natural lotus leaf structures by nanoimprint on silica sol-gel films

An original and low cost method for the fabrication of patterned surfaces bioinspired from butterfly wings and lotus leaves is presented. Silica-based sol-gel films are thermally imprinted from elastomeric molds to produce stable structures with superhydrophobicity values as high as 160 degrees water contact angle. The biomimetic surfaces are demonstrated to be tuned from superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic by annealing between 200 degrees C and 500 degrees C.     

Cerebrospinal fluid dendritic cells infiltrate the brain parenchyma and target the cervical lymph nodes under neuroinflammatory conditions

Background

In many neuroinflammatory diseases, dendritic cells (DCs) accumulate in several compartments of the central nervous system (CNS), including the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Myeloid DCs invading the inflamed CNS are thus thought to play a major role in the initiation and perpetuation of CNS-targeted autoimmune responses. We previously reported that, in normal rats, DCs injected intra-CSF migrated outside the CNS and reached the B-cell zone of cervical lymph nodes. However, there is yet no information on the migratory behavior of CSF-circulating DCs under neuroinflammatory conditions.

Methodology/Principal Findings

To address this issue, we performed in vivo transfer experiments in rats suffering from experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model of multiple sclerosis. EAE or control rats were injected intra-CSF with bone marrow-derived myeloid DCs labeled with the fluorescent marker carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFSE). In parallel experiments, fluorescent microspheres were injected intra-CSF to EAE rats in order to track endogenous antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Animals were then sacrificed on day 1 or 8 post-injection and their brain and peripheral lymph nodes were assessed for the presence of microspheres⁺ APCs or CFSE⁺ DCs by immunohistology and/or FACS analysis. Data showed that in EAE rats, DCs injected intra-CSF substantially infiltrated several compartments of the inflamed CNS, including the periventricular demyelinating lesions. We also found that in EAE rats, as compared to controls, a larger number of intra-CSF injected DCs reached the cervical lymph nodes. This migratory behavior was accompanied by an accentuation of EAE clinical signs and an increased systemic antibody response against myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein, a major immunogenic myelin antigen.

Conclusions/Significance

Altogether, these results indicate that CSF-circulating DCs are able to both survey the inflamed brain and to reach the cervical lymph nodes. In EAE and maybe multiple sclerosis, CSF-circulating DCs may thus support the immune responses that develop within and outside the inflamed CNS.     

Propionate metabolism and diversity of relevant functional genes by in silico analysis and detection in subsurface petroleum reservoirs

Propionate is a common metabolic intermediate occurring in environmental samples including petroleum reservoirs. Available microbial genomes were obtained from the NCBI database and analyzed in silico by hmmscan to check three metabolic pathways of propionate production in petroleum reservoir systems. The succinate pathway was the dominant one while the other two (lactate and 1,2-propanediol pathways) contributed less to the formation of propionate according to the Hidden Markov Model calculation. The mmdA gene encoding methylmalonyl-CoA decarboxylase was used as a biomarker gene to detect the diversity of microbes involved in the propionate formation in Jiangsu oil reservoirs. The mmdA gene clone library showed that microbes affiliated within the genus of Archaeoglobus, Thermococcus, Anaerobaculum, as well as more than ten other genera were the potential microorganisms involved in the production of propionate. Meanwhile, as the biomarker genes involved in the other two propionate-producing pathways, the functional genes of lcdA and pduP were tested with PCR amplification, but no positive results were observed in Jiangsu oil reservoirs.