Mesenchymal stem cells and cell-free preparations for treating atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic cutaneous inflammatory disease caused by an interaction between genetic, immune and epidermal barrier factors. Several treatments can be used to treat this disease but there are patients that do not respond to actual drugs. So, there is a need to develop effective therapies for AD. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are non-hematopoietic multipotent adult progenitor cells with immunomodulatory power and self-regenerating capacity to repair tissue damage, so they could be a potential effective treatment for AD. MSCs-Conditioned Medium (CM) and MSCs-exosomes are cell-free preparation with molecules secreted by stem cells that could be also beneficial for AD. This viewpoint reviews the actual development of MSCs, MSCs-CM and MSCs-exosomes for treating patients with AD.     

Iron Binding by Fiber is Influenced by Competing Minerals

Iron was bound by neutral (NDF) and acid (ADF) detergent fibers extracted from cooked pinto beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). Soluble iron (total iron minus bound iron) in the presence of NDF was increased from 13.11 ± 5.08 to 35.58 ± 9.20% and from 22.22 ± 164 to 29.98 ± 0.96% when 1.17 and 1.38 ppm (18.4 and 21.4 PM) of copper and zinc were added, respectively. In contrast, 0.93 μm (14.6 PM) of copper decreased the soluble iron from 61.02 ± 5.77 to 17.88 ± 4.5% in the presence of ADF. Neither magnesium or cobalt altered the amount of soluble iron in the presence of fiber. The change in soluble iron was directly proportional to the concentration of copper and zinc. The presence of two types of binding sites is proposed.     

Restrictions to the use of cleanrooms for packaging pasteurised milk

The study evaluated the effect of packaging pasteurised milk inside an ISO Class 8 cleanroom and an external Class 7 antechamber. Chemical, microbiological and sensory analyses of three trials did not show evidence of improvements in the product shelf life, although the total airborne particle and the viable airborne counts were considerable higher outside the cleanroom than inside it. Post‐pasteurisation contaminations inherent to the equipments should be considered in futures studies. Therefore, the use of cleanroom technology is an operational alternative to be taken into consideration, provided that the characteristics of the whole system is compatible with the high standards of the clean air.     

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE COMPARISON OF INSTRUMENT METHODS FOR COOKED RICE TEXTURE

The texture of 10 milled rices cooked by a standardized method in excess water was measured in 11 laboratories using various instrument methods that had been developed specifically for national samples. The samples selected represented a wide range of rice textures. Instrument indexes for hardness and stickiness of cooked rice generally were more sensitive than the corresponding taste panel scores in discriminating among the 10 cooked rice samples. Instrument indexes for hardness correlated positively among each other as did those for stickiness. Most hardness indexes showed significant negative correlation with stickiness indexes. Most hardness indexes were positively correlated with amylose content whereas stickiness indexes were negatively correlated with amylose content. The continued use of amylose content as an index of eating quality in a rice breeding program is justified.     

PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS, TOCOPHEROLS AND OTHER MINOR COMPONENTS IN VIRGIN OLIVE OILS OF SOME TUNISIAN VARIETIES

The phenols, α‐tocopherols, fatty acids and oxidative stability of six monovarietal virgin olive oils (VOOs) were determined. Fourteen phenolic compounds were detected and quantified by solid phase extraction and reversed phase‐high performance liquid chromatography. Dialdehydic form of elenolic acid linked to tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein and ligstroside aglycones were the main components in all samples. Pinoresinol was the most abundant component in lignan fraction. The total phenol content of these monovarietal oils varied from 66.82 mg/kg in “Neb Jmel” oil to 662.74 mg/kg in “El Hor” oil. A wide range of α‐tocopherol contents was also noticed; it varied from 141.94 mg/kg in “Semni” variety to 364.23 mg/kg in “Jdallou” variety. With regard to pigments, chlorophylls and carotenoids were found at variable concentrations: with median values of 11.33 and 3.10 mg/kg, respectively. Among the studied varieties, “Oueslati” and El Hor were characterized by the lowest levels of palmitic and linoleic acids and the highest values of oleic acid.