N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Modulate In-Vitro T Cell Function in Type I Diabetic Patients

In this work, we assessed the in-vitro effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; C20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; C22:6n-3) (final concentration, 15 microM) on T cell blastogenesis, interleukin-2 and -4 (IL-2, IL-4) secretion, fatty acid composition and intracellular oxidative status in type I diabetic patients with or without complications. Con A stimulated lymphocyte proliferation, glucose uptake, intracellular reduced glutathione levels and catalase activity were lower in diabetics as compared to controls, regardless to the presence of complications. EPA and DHA diminished T-lymphocyte proliferation and IL-2 production but enhanced IL-4 secretion in both diabetic and control groups. No changes in the levels of reduced glutathione and in the activities of catalase and SOD were observed in control T cells cultured in the presence of EPA and DHA. However, in diabetic patients, addition of n-3 PUFA to culture induced an increase in T cell levels of reduced glutathione and hydroperoxide, and in activities of catalase and SOD. Low levels of arachidonic acid (C20:4n-6) were found in plasma membrane phospholipids of lymphocytes from diabetic patients compared to controls. Incubation of lymphocytes with EPA and DHA was associated with an incorporation of these fatty acids in membrane phospholipids. In conclusion, the beneficial effects of n-3 PUFA on T cell functions in type I diabetes could be attributed to their suppressive action and modulation of cytokine secretion, and to the improvement of intracellular oxidative status.     

Variations in essential oil and fatty acid composition during Myrtus communis var. italica fruit maturation

The essential oil and fatty acid composition of Myrtus communis var. italica fruit during its ripening was determined. The effect of the harvesting time on some physical properties of Myrtus fruits, fruit weight and moisture content, were significant. The increase of fruit weight (from 2.54 to 8.79 g% fruits) during ripeness was correlated positively with that of moisture content (from 28% to 72%). Fruit essential oil yields varied from 0.003% to 0.01% and showed a remarkable increase at 60 days after flowering to reach a maximum of 0.11%. Forty-seven volatile compounds were identified in fruit essential oils; 1,8-cineole (7.31–40.99%), geranyl acetate (1.83–20.54%), linalool (0.74–18.92%) and α-pinene (1.24–12.64%) were the main monoterpene compounds. Total fatty acid contents varied from 0.81% to 3.10% during fruit maturation and the predominant fatty acids were linoleic (12.21–71.34%), palmitic (13.58–37.07%) and oleic (6.49–21.89%) acids. The linoleic acid proportions correlated inversely with palmitic and oleic acids during all the stages of ripening.     

Pro- und Antioxydantien auf dem Fettgebiet XXVI: Anthochlore von Dahlia variabilis und Cosmos sulphureus

Pro- and Antioxidants in the Field of Fats XXVI: Anthochlores of Dahlia variabilis and Cosmos sulphureus The authors have determined the antioxidative activity of the anthochlor pigments of Dahlia variabilis and Cosmos sulphureus on methyl linoleate. It was found that the aglycones butein and sulphuretin exhibit stronger antioxidative action than the chalkone aglycone 2″,4,4″-trihydroxy chalcone. During the treatment of the two flowers, a splitting of the glycosides was observed. In the freshly cut Cosmos sulphureus variety no aglycones could be detected. Furthermore, the distribution of anthochlores in the various series of petals in Dahlia variabilis and Helichrysum bracteatum was studied.     

Examination and composition of some legume seeds (author's transl)

The chemical composition of some legume seeds is reviewed. It was found that soy (Glycine soja), field beans (Vicia faba), Vicia sativa and Lens culingris (red seeds) have the highest protein content. There were only minor differences in amino acid composition except for glutamic acid. The lysine content of legume seeds was high. Lysine is the most limiting essential amino acid in cereal proteins, therefore cereal products can be improved nutritionally by addition of legume seed flour. Examination of polar lipids by thin layer chromatography revealed that lecithin, phosphatidyl ethanolamine and phosphatidyl inositol were the major components. However, Lupinus angustifolius contained two unknown polar lipid classes.--In contrary to previous literature the ripe legume seeds contained only a very small amount of galactosyl diglycerides; however legume seeds contain higher amounts of the compounds. The conection between biosynthesis of linolenic acid and the presence of galactosyl diglycerides in higher plants is discussed.     

Elemental chlorine-free bleaching halfa pulp

Halfa, also known as Stipa tenacissima, is grown in North Africa and south Spain. Due to its short fiber length, paper of halfa remains bulk and takes the block letters well. In this study halfa was evaluated for bleached pulp production. Two cellulose pulps with different chemical compositions were pulped by conventional Kraft process: one from the original halfa material and the other from halfa pretreated by diluted acid. The pulp produced from halfa pretreated by diluted acid was bleached by elemental chlorine-free sequences, DEPD and DEDP. Yield, Kappa number, brightness and α-cellulose contents of bleached and unbleached pulps were evaluated. The results show that during the chemical pulping process, treated halfa was easily cooked than that original halfa. Treated halfa pulp also showed very good bleaching, showing brightness level of 94.8% ISO, yield 93.6% and α-cellulose content 96.8% with DEDP bleaching sequence compared to 83.2% ISO brightness level, 92.8% yield and 95.1% α-cellulose content for bleached pulp with DEPD bleaching sequence. On the other hand, the physicomechanical properties of pulp were not notably reduced by the bleaching process. Breaking length, tear and burst index of paper sheets were acceptable. Therefore, this halfa material could be a worthwhile choice for cellulosic fiber supply.     

Pro- und Antioxydantien auf dem Fettgebiet XXIII: Blütenfarbstoffe von Helichrysum bracteatum

Pro- and Antioxidants in the Field of Fats XXIII: Colouring Matter of the Blossoms of Helichrysum bracteatum From the viewpoint of the influence of three anthochlores, namely bractein, chalkonglucoside A and B as well as cyanin, contained in the petals of differently coloured Helichrysum bracteatum varieties, on the fading out of these flowers, the antioxidative properties of the former towards methyl linoleate were investigated. The three anthochlores possessed antioxidative action; chalkonglucoside being the strongest. The cyanin from the violet variety of immortelle did not possess any antioxidative action under the experimental conditions employed. A relationship between the occurence of flavones and the colour stability as well as inhibition of anthochlores of the Helichrysum bracteatum prior to autoxidation was established. Isosalipurposide, a third chalkonglucoside, could be detected in the covering leaves of the yellow variety of Helichrysum bracteatum with the help of paper and thin-layer chromatography.     

A distance measure for large graphs based on prime graphs

Graphs are universal modeling tools. They are used to represent objects and their relationships in almost all domains: they are used to represent DNA, images, videos, social networks, XML documents, etc. When objects are represented by graphs, the problem of their comparison is a problem of comparing graphs. Comparing objects is a key task in our daily life. It is the core of a search engine, the backbone of a mining tool, etc. Nowadays, comparing objects faces the challenge of the large amount of data that this task must deal with. Moreover, when graphs are used to model these objects, it is known that graph comparison is very complex and computationally hard especially for large graphs. So, research on simplifying graph comparison gainedan interest and several solutions are proposed. In this paper, we explore and evaluate a new solution for the comparison of large graphs. Our approach relies on a compact encoding of graphs called prime graphs. Prime graphs are smaller and simpler than the original ones but they retain the structure and properties of the encoded graphs. We propose to approximate the similarity between two graphs by comparing the corresponding prime graphs. Simulations results show that this approach is effective for large graphs.     

Comparative Study of Essential Oils Extracted from Algerian Myrtus communis L. Leaves Using Microwaves and Hydrodistillation

Two different extraction methods were used for a comparative study of Algerian Myrtle leaf essential oils: solvent-free-microwave-extraction (SFME) and conventional hydrodistillation (HD). Essential oils analyzed by GC and GC-MS presented 51 components constituting 97.71 and 97.39% of the total oils, respectively. Solvent-Free-Microwave-Extract Essential oils SFME-EO were richer in oxygenated compounds. Their major compounds were 1,8-cineole, followed by α-pinene as against α-pinene, followed by 1,8-cineole for HD. Their antimicrobial activity was investigated on 12 microorganisms. The antioxidant activities were studied with the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH^•) radical scavenging method. Generally, both essential oils showed high antimicrobial and weak antioxidant activities. Microstructure analyses were also undertaken on the solid residue of myrtle leaves by Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM); it showed that the SFME-cellular structure undergoes significant modifications compared to the conventional HD residual solid. Comparison between hydrodistillation and SFME presented numerous distinctions. Several advantages with SFME were observed: faster kinetics and higher efficiency with similar yields: 0.32% dry basis, in 30 min as against 180 min for HD.     

Nonrestricted differential intoxication of cells by pertussis toxin

After uptake and retrograde transport pertussis toxin acts by ADP-ribosylating alpha-Gi proteins. We show that uptake via many different receptor proteins followed by retrograde transport and intoxication is not restricted to a particular cell type. The efficiency of cellular intoxication, however, was found to be cell type dependent.