Design Principles for Cationic,Astrocyte-Targeted Probes

The brain's astrocytes play key roles in normal and pathological brain processes. Targeting small molecules to astrocytes in the presence of the many other cell types in the brain will provide useful tools for their visualization and manipulation. Herein, we explore the functional consequences of synthetic modifications to a recently described astrocyte marker composed of a bright rhodamine-based fluorophore and an astrocyte-targeting moiety. We altered the nature of the targeting moiety to probe the dependence of astrocyte targeting on hydrophobicity, charge, and pK_a when exposed to astrocytes and neurons isolated from the mouse cortex. We found that an overall molecular charge of +2 and a targeting moiety with a heterocyclic aromatic amine are important requirements for specific and robust astrocyte labeling. These results provide a basis for engineering astrocyte-targeted molecular tools with unique properties, including metabolite sensing or optogenetic control.     

Maternal Flaxseed Oil During Lactation Enhances Bone Development in Male Rat Pups

Flaxseed oil is an alpha linolenic acid source important in the growth and body development stage; furthermore, this acid acts on adipose tissue and bone health. The aim of this study was to evaluate body composition, fatty acid composition, hormone profile, retroperitoneal adipocyte area and femur structure of pups at weaning, whose mothers were fed a diet containing flaxseed oil during lactation. After birth, pups were randomly assigned: control (C, n = 12) and flaxseed oil (FO, n = 12), rats whose mothers were treated with diet containing soybean or flaxseed oil. At 21 days, the pups were weaned and body mass, length, body composition, biochemical parameter, leptin, osteoprotegerin, osteocalcin, fatty acids composition, intra‐abdominal fat mass and femur structure were analyzed. FO showed (p < 0.05): higher body mass (+12 %) and length (+9 %); body fat mass (g, +45 %); bone mineral density (+8 %), bone mineral content (+55 %) and bone area (+35 %), osteocalcin (+173 %) and osteoprotegerin (+183 %). Arachidonic acid was lower (p < 0.0001), alpha‐linolenic and eicosapentaenoic were higher (p < 0.0001). Intra‐abdominal fat mass was higher (+25 %), however, the retroperitoneal adipocytes area was lower (?44 %). Femur mass (+10 %), distance between epiphyses (+4 %) and bone mineral density (+13 %) were higher. The study demonstrates that adequate flaxseed oil content during a lactation diet plays an important role in the development of pups.     

The effect of monoethylene glycol on the stability of water-in-oil emulsions

It is important from both a strategic and economic standpoint to study the mechanism of formation of water/oil emulsions, to predict their increase of viscosity with respect to that of the crude oil, and to obtain information about the stability vs separation of these substances (since their presence can impair oil processing and distribution). The objective of this work was to ascertain the influence of monoethylene glycol (MEG) on these parameters and its action mechanism. The addition of MEG in different proportions in the oil emulsions significantly changed the flow curve of the emulsion, passing from a quasi-Newtonian one to a shear thinning behaviour. Besides this, when MEG was present at low concentrations, the demulsification process was slow and an increase in concentration made the emulsions more stable than samples containing the same aqueous phase proportion. Under the conditions studied, the addition of MEG did not reduce the quantity of the aqueous phase separated compared to the emulsions free of MEG, but significantly delayed the demulsification process. Rheology provided important information regarding the phase separation process of the aqueous phase in oil phase emulsions, and dynamic testing suggested that the most relevant effect of the addition of MEG is an increase of the emulsion elasticity that can be correlated with the increase in the emulsion stability observed by bottle test and Turbiscan.     

Combustion of Mechanically Alloyed Aluminum‐Magnesium Powders in Steam

Mechanically alloyed Al ⋅ Mg powders with the mole fraction of Al varied from 0.47 to 0.9 were burned at atmospheric pressure in water vapor. The powders were carried by nitrogen through the center of a hydrogen‐oxygen diffusion flame. The particles ignited in the steam at approximately 2500 K, generated as the hydrogen‐oxygen flame product. Filtered photomultiplier tubes were used to capture the optical emission traces of individual particles as they burned. It was assumed that the measured durations of individual emission pulses are representative of individual particle burn times. Distributions of the burn times were obtained for each powder and correlated with respective particle size distributions to relate particle burn times with their sizes. Color temperatures corresponding to the particle emission signals were also obtained. It was observed that the burn times measured for alloys were more close to those of pure Al than Mg; for particles smaller than 2–3 μm, burn times for the alloys were shorter than for pure metal particles. The effect was strongest for the alloy with 50 wt‐% of Mg (Al_0.47Mg_0.54). Approximately, burn times, τ, as a function of particle size, d, could be estimated using a τ∼dⁿ law, where n increased from 0.72 to 1.05 as the mole fraction of Mg increased from 0.1 to 0.53. The particle flame temperatures varied between 2500 and 3100 K for all alloys except for Al_0.7Mg_0.3, for which the temperatures were somewhat lower. The measured flame temperatures were reasonably close to the adiabatic flame temperatures calculated for combustion of mixed elemental Al and Mg in steam.     

Anthocyanins remain stable during commercial blackcurrant juice processing

Abstract: It remains important to establish the stability of anthocyanins throughout commercial processing in order to maintain the bioactivity of the processed food/s. The present study aimed to assess the recovery and formation of anthocyanins and their free phenolic acid degradation products during the commercial processing of blackcurrant juice concentrate. A bench‐scale processing model was also established to allow for alteration of predefined parameters to identify where commercial processes could be modified to influence anthocyanin yield. No significant loss in anthocyanins was observed throughout the commercial processing of blackcurrants, from whole berry through milling, to pectin hydrolysis and sodium bisulphite addition (P ≥ 0.7). No significant loss in anthocyanins was observed following the subsequent processing of pressed juice, through pasteurization, decantation, filtration, and concentration (P ≥ 0.9). Similarly, the bench‐scale model showed no significant losses in anthocyanin content except during pasteurization (22%± 0.7%, P < 0.001). In the full‐factorial Design of Experiment model analysis, only sodium bisulphite concentration had an impact on anthocyanin recovery, which resulted in an increase (23% to 27%; P < 0.001) in final anthocyanin concentration. No phenolic degradation products (free protocatechuic acid or gallic acid derived from cyanidin and delphinin species, respectively) were identified in any processed sample when compared to authentic analytical standards, analyzed by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography DAD. Practical Application: This article provides crucial data directly applicable to commercial juice processing, such as improving anthocyanin yield and practical considerations for anthocyanin stability and degradation. This aspect is particularly pertinent considering the current commercial interest in anthocyanin‐derived phenolic acids and their health‐related benefits. Further research and development targets in the area of commercial juice product development are identified.     

Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to raw milk cheese in Quebec, Canada: use of exact probability calculation and casecase study approaches to foodborne outbreak investigation

The analytical studies used to investigate foodborne outbreak are mostly case-control or retrospective cohort studies. However, these studies can be complex to perform and susceptible to biases. This article addresses basic principles of epidemiology, probability, and the use of case-case design to identify the source of an Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to raw milk cheese consumption in Quebec, Canada; a small number of cases with the same pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profile were involved. Between 4 December 2008 and 15 January 2009, a cumulative total of 16 E. coli O157:H7 cases with the same PFGE profile were reported to Quebec public health authorities. Among the first six cases reported, three had consumed raw milk cheese from the same producer (cheese A). Raw milk cheese is consumed by about 2 % of the Quebec population. By using the exact probability calculation, it was found that a significantly higher proportion of E. coli O157:H7 cases (with the specific PFGE profile) than expected had consumed cheese A (P < 0.001). These computations were updated during the course of the investigation to include subsequent cases and gave the same results. A case-case study corroborated this result. This article considers alternative statistical and epidemiological approaches to investigate a foodborne outbreak-in particular with an exact probability calculation and case-case comparisons. This approach could offer a fast and inexpensive alternative to regular case-control studies to target public health actions, particularly during a foodborne outbreak.     

Anti-inflammatory effect of aqueous extracts of roasted and green Coffea arabica L.

Green coffee contains a large quantity and variety of polyphenols and flavonoids. The roasting affects the composition of the polyphenols in coffee, due to the formation of compounds generated by Maillard reaction, which can have anti-inflammatory or antioxidant potential. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of aqueous extracts of green (AGCa) and roasted (ARCa) coffee beans were investigated in animal models and using a DPPH radical scavenging test. In the formalin test the extracts reduced licking activity only in the late phase. The inhibitory values of oedema at 3 h post-carrageenan were 53% and 74% for 100 and 300 mg/kg of the AGCa extract and 36% for ARCa (300 mg/kg). Leukocyte recruitment into the peritoneal cavity was inhibited by the extracts. The antioxidant activities of the extracts were higher than the reference antioxidants, ascorbic acid and butylated hydroxytoluene. These results indicate that coffee extracts exhibit anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.     

Influence of montmorillonite layered silicate on plasticized poly(l-lactide) blown films

Plasticized poly(l-lactide) (PLA) montmorillonite layered silicate (MLS) nanocomposites were compounded and blown-film processed using a co-rotating twin screw extruder. PLA was mixed with 10 wt% acetyltriethyl citrate ester plasticizer and 5 wt% of an organically modified montmorillonite at various screw speeds. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) determined that the compounded pellets and the blown film PLA/MLS nanocomposites were intercalated. The effect of processing screw speeds on the barrier, thermal, mechanical, and biodegradation properties of the nanocomposites were analyzed and compared to the neat polymer. Nanocomposite films show a 48% improvement in oxygen barrier and a 50% improvement in water vapor barrier in comparison to the neat PLA. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed an overall 9 °C increase in the decomposition temperature for all of the nanocomposites. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has determined that the glass transition, cold crystallization and melting point temperatures were not significantly influenced by the presence of MLS. Mechanical properties of the nanocomposites showed that the Young's modulus increased by 20% and the ultimate elongation of the nanocomposites were not sacrificed in comparison to the neat samples. Biodegradation rates in soil were slightly greater for the PLA/MLS nanocomposite than the pure PLA. However, none of the PLA pure and nanocomposites achieved significant biodegradation levels after 180 days.