Effect of Dietary Intake of Fermented Seeds of Parkia biglobosa (Jacq) Benth (African Locust Bean) on Hypertension in Bogou and Goumou-kope Areas of Togo

Purpose: To identify the possible effect of the consumption of fermented seeds of Parkia biglobosa (Jack) Benth, Mimosaceae (African locust bean) by humans on the prevention of hypertension.Methods: Two types of populations in Togo were identified and compared: one type was in a region (Bogou) where the condiment (Parkia biglobosa seeds) is highly consumed and the other people do not eat it at all (Goumou-kope). Anthropometrical, clinical and biochemical analyses were investigated in both target groups.Results: Significantly decreased blood pressure and heart beat were detected in the group of people living in Bogou’s region when compared to the non-consumption group of Goumou-kope (p < 0.001). Magnesium level was significantly increased in the Bogou group compared to that in the second group (p < 0.0001). Lower levels of low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (91± 36 vs. 110 ± 44 mg/dL, p = 0.01), triglycerides (111 ± 6 vs. 129 ± 6 mg/dL, p = 0.028), and higher levels of high density lipoproteincholesterol (63 ± 2 vs. 48 ± 3 mg/dL, p < 0.001) were observed in subjects who regularly consummed P. biglobosa fermented seeds. Furthermore, plasma glucose concentration was significantly lower in Bogou group than in Goumou-kope (68 ± 16 vs. 76 ± 15 mg/dL (p < 0.001).Conclusion: The results of the present study demonstrate that fermented seeds of Parkia biglobosa exert an anti-hypertension effect.Keywords: Blood minerals, Plasma lipids, Antihypertensive, Parkia biglobosa seed

Unraveling biogeographical patterns and environmental drivers of soil fungal diversity at the French national scale

The fungal kingdom is among the most diversified kingdoms on Earth, with estimations of up to 12 million species. However, it remains poorly understood, with only 150 000 fungal species currently described. Given the major ecological role of fungi in ecosystem functioning, these numbers stress the importance of investigating fungal diversity description across different ecosystem types. Here, we explored the spatial distribution of the soil fungal diversity on a broad geographical scale, using the French Soil Quality Monitoring Network that covers the whole French territory (2171 soils sampled along a systematic grid). Fungal alpha diversity was assessed directly from soil DNA using a meta-barcoding approach by targeting the 18S rDNA gene. The total accumulated fungal diversity across France included 136 219 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), i.e., about 1 % of worldwide soil fungal diversity (based on a maximum diversity estimate of 12 million) for a territory representing only 0.3 % of the terrestrial surface on Earth. Based on this dataset, the first extensive map of fungal alpha diversity was drawn and showed a heterogeneous and spatially structured distribution in large biogeographical patterns of 231 km radius for richness (Hill diversity of order 0) and smaller patterns of 36 km radius for dominant fungi (Hill diversity of order 2). As related to other environmental parameters, the spatial distribution of fungal diversity (Hill numbers based on different orders of diversity) was mainly influenced by local filters such as soil characteristics and land management and also by global filters such as climate conditions with various relative influences. Interestingly, cropped soils exhibited the highest pool of fungal diversity relative to forest and vineyard soils. To complement this, soil fungal OTU network interactions were calculated for the different land uses across France. They varied hugely and showed a loss of 75 % of the complexity in crop systems and grasslands compared to forests and up to 83 % in vineyard systems. Overall, our study revealed that a nationwide survey with a high spatial-resolution approach is relevant for deeply investigating the spatial distribution and determinism of soil fungal diversity. Our findings provide novel insights for a better understanding of soil fungal ecology across the 18S rDNA gene and upgrade biodiversity conservation policies by supplying representative repositories dedicated to soil fungi.</p

Medium effects in high energy heavy-ion collisions

The change of hadron properties in dense matter based on various theoretical approaches are reviewed. Incorporating these medium effects in the relativistic transport model, which treats consistently the change of hadron masses and energies in dense matter via the scalar and vector fields, heavy-ion collisions at energies available from SIS/GSI, AGS/BNL, and SPS/CERN are studied. This model is seen to provide satisfactory explanations for the observed enhancement of kaon, antikaon, and antiproton yields as well as soft pions in the transverse direction from the SIS experiments. In the AGS heavy-ion experiments, it can account for the enhanced $K^+/\pi^+$ ratio, the difference in the slope parameters of the $K^+$ and $K^-$ transverse kinetic energy spectra, and the lower apparent temperature of antiprotons than that of protons. This model also provides possible explanations for the observed enhancement of low-mass dileptons, phi mesons, and antilambdas in heavy-ion collisions at SPS energies. Furthermore, the change of hadron properties in hot dense matter leads to new signatures of the quark-gluon plasma to hadronic matter transition in future ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions at RHIC/BNL.Comment: RevTeX, 65 pages, including 25 postscript figures, invited topical review for Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physic

Track D Social Science, Human Rights and Political Science

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138414/1/jia218442.pd

The effect of high-altitude on human skeletal muscle energetics: 31P-MRS results from the caudwell xtreme everest expedition

Many disease states are associated with regional or systemic hypoxia. The study of healthy individuals exposed to high-altitude hypoxia offers a way to explore hypoxic adaptation without the confounding effects of disease and therapeutic interventions. Using 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging, we investigated skeletal muscle energetics and morphology after exposure to hypobaric hypoxia in seven altitude-naïve subjects (trekkers) and seven experienced climbers. The trekkers ascended to 5300 m while the climbers ascended above 7950 m. Before the study, climbers had better mitochondrial function (evidenced by shorter phosphocreatine recovery halftime) than trekkers: 16±1 vs. 22±2 s (mean ± SE, p<0.01). Climbers had higher resting [Pi] than trekkers before the expedition and resting [Pi] was raised across both groups on their return (PRE: 2.6±0.2 vs. POST: 3.0±0.2 mM, p<0.05). There was significant muscle atrophy post-CXE (PRE: 4.7±0.2 vs. POST: 4.5±0.2 cm2, p<0.05), yet exercising metabolites were unchanged. These results suggest that, in response to high altitude hypoxia, skeletal muscle function is maintained in humans, despite significant atrophy

Effects of a direct injection of liposoluble iron into rat striatum. Importance of the rate of iron delivery to cells.

International audienceFor a better understanding of the role of iron imbalance in neuropathology, a liposoluble iron complex (ferric hydroxyquinoline, FHQ) was injected into striatum of rats. The effects of two modalities of iron injections on brain damage, hydroxyl radical (*OH) production (assessed by the salicylate method coupled to microdialysis) and tissue reactive iron level (evaluated ex vivo by the propensity of the injected structure for lipid peroxidation) were examined. Rapid injection of FHQ (10 nmoles of 5 mM FHQ pH 3 solution over 1-min period) but not that of corresponding vehicle led to extensive damage associated with increased tissue free iron level in the injected region. Conversely, neither lesion nor free iron accumulation was observed after slow FHQ injection (10 nmoles of a 100 microM FHQ pH 7 solution over 1-h period) as compared to corresponding vehicle injection. Production of *OH was induced by slow FHQ injection but not by rapid FHQ injection, probably as a result of in vivo abolition of iron-induced *OH formation by acid pH. Indeed, rapid injection of FAC pH 7 (ferric ammonium citrate, 5 mM in saline) was associated with *OH formation whereas rapid injection of FAC pH 3 did not. Our results identify the rate of iron delivery to cells as an important determinant of iron toxicity and do not support a major role for extracellular *OH in damage associated with intracerebral iron injection

La biodiversité des sols est-elle impactée par l’apport de cuivre ou son accumulation dans les sols vignes ? Synthèse des connaissances scientifiques

National audiencePendant 150 ans, le sulfate de cuivre a été utilisé de façon intensive comme fongicide pour lutter contre les maladies de la vigne. De ce fait, le cuivre s’est fortement accumulé dans les solsviticoles, atteignant des concentrations potentiellement nocives pour les organismes des sols.Bien que les doses de cuivre appliquées aujourd’hui soient 10 fois plus faibles qu’il y a 50 ans,son utilisation dans le contexte de la transition agroécologique est encore soumise à débat caril est un des rares pesticides autorisés en agriculture biologique. Dans ce travail, nous avonsconduit une méta-analyse de la littérature académique internationale pour objectiver l’impactdu cuivre sur la qualité biologique des sols quand il est appliqué aux doses agricoles actuelles,mais également l’impact de son accumulation dans les sols. Parmi les 300 articles passés enrevue, seulement 19 répondaient à la question de façon pertinente.Les résultats montrent que l’activité microbienne décroît de 30% à l’application d’une dosesupérieures à 400 kgCu/ha/an. L’abondance des nématodes reste inchangée pour des doses decuivre jusqu’à 3 200 kg/ha/an. La reproduction des collemboles et des enchytrées diminue de50 % après application de 400 et 1895 kgCu/ha/an respectivement. La biomasse lombricienneest réduite de 15 % après application de 200 kgCu/ha/an. D’autre part, dans des sols avec desteneurs en cuivre supérieures à 200 kgCu/ha, la respiration microbienne est réduite de 50 %.Aucun effet des teneurs en cuivre du sol n’est observé sur les collemboles. Globalement, bienqu’une toxicité du cuivre soit observée sur la biodiversité du sol, la littérature montre qu’elleconcerne des doses au moins 50 fois supérieures à la dose de 4 kgCu/ha/an actuellement auto risée par la Commission Européenne en viticulture. Par conséquent, appliquer du cuivre à 4 kgCu/ha/an ne devrait pas substantiellement modifier la qualité et les fonctions biologique du so

Effect of a swim training on homocysteine and cysteine levels in rats.

International audienceThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a 8-week of swim training on total plasma homocysteine and cysteine levels in 16 male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 17 weeks. We also evaluated the activity of hepatic cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS), an enzyme involved in the metabolism of Hcy, the concentration of plasma glutathione, taurine, and a fraction of vitamin B6: the pyridoxal 5-phosphate (PLP). After one week of acclimatization, rats were randomly divided into two groups: 8 non-trained (NTR) and 8 trained rats (TR). Following the training period, body weight gain was lower in TR than in NTR. Plasma homocysteine did not differ among groups while significantly lower plasma cysteine and taurine levels were found in TR (157.83 +/- 8.6 micromol/L; 133.01 +/- 9.32 micromol/L; P < 0.05) compared with data of NTR (176.19 +/- 4.9 micromol/L; 162.57 +/- 8.16 micromol/L; P < 0.05). No significant changes in hepatic CBS activity were observed in TR compared with NTR. Moreover, values for plasma glutathione and PLP concentrations were not affected by training.These results indicate that training reduces plasma cysteine and taurine levels whereas it does not modify other studied parameters. Thus, physical training may regulate cysteine metabolism

Time course of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and oxidative stress in fructose-hypertensive rats: A model related to metabolic syndrome

International audienc