Screening of Antiradical and Antibacterial Activities of Essential Oils of Artemisia campestris L., Artemisia herba alba Asso, & Thymus capitatus Hoff. Et Link. Growing Wild in the Southern of Tunisia

The present study was conducted to evaluate in vitro antibacterial and antiradical activities of essential oils extracted from air-dried leaves of Artemisia campestris Artemisia herba alba and Thymus capitatus growing wild in the southern of Tunisia. The principle compounds of Artemisia campestris oil were b-pinene (45.8%) and a-pinène (12.5%), the major constituents of Artemisia herba alba oil were β-thujone (30.0%) and α-thujone (25.7%) whereas the Thymus capitatus oil was mainly composed of  carvacrol (68.8%) and p-cymène (11.1%). The determination of the antiradical activity by DPPH method showed that Thymus capitatus oil exerted the highest activity with (0.15 µl/ml), followed by Artemisia herba alba (1.0 µl/ml) and Artemisia campestris (2.09 µl/ml). The screening of the antibacterial activity against seven bacteria using the disc diffusion method showed that Thymus capitatus oil strongly inhibited the growth of all bacteria studied (20 - 30 mm) except Pseudomonas aerogunosa which was resistant to all oils. The two other oils exhibited moderate and weak antibacterial activity. These results show and confirm that Thymus capitatus possesses strong antiradical and antibacterial activities, and therefore it could be used as a natural preservative ingredient in food and/or pharmaceutical industries

Au large de Rogliano – Baie de Tamarone

La prospection archéologique sous-marine réalisée dans la baie de Tamarone, face à Macinaggio, d’une durée d’environ une semaine, a eu lieu dans le cadre de la fouille Drassm/Arkaeos 2011 de l’épave Ouest-Giraglia 2. Afin d’optimiser le temps imparti pour ces deux opérations, nous avons profité De la bonne protection de la baie de Tamarone pour y travailler lorsque l’on ne pouvait pas intervenir à la Giraglia. L’origine de cette prospection est due à une information émanant de plongeurs locau..

Au large de Fos-sur-Mer – La Marronède et l’anse Saint-Gervais

Le complexe portuaire antique du golfe de Fos-sur-Mer : programme de recherche et chantier-école Le fond du golfe de Fos-sur-Mer abrite les vestiges d’un complexe portuaire installé entre la fin de la République et le haut Empire, au débouché du présumé canal creusé par les troupes du général Marius pour contourner la périlleuse embouchure du Rhône. Baptisé Fossis Marianis sur la carte de Peutinger, où il est représenté par une icône similaire à celle signalant le port d’Ostie, ce complexe po..

Inhibition of allogeneic inflammatory responses by the Ribonucleotide Reductase Inhibitors, Didox and Trimidox

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Graft-versus-host disease is the single most important obstacle facing successful allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT). Even with current immunosuppressive therapies, morbidity and mortality rates are high. Current therapies including cyclosporine A (CyA) and related compounds target IL-2 signaling. However, although these compounds offer great benefit, they are also associated with multiple toxicities. Therefore, new compounds with a greater efficacy and reduced toxicity are needed to enable us to overcome this hurdle.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The allogeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) is a unique <it>ex vivo </it>method to study a drug's action on the initial events resulting in T-cell activation and proliferation, synonymous to the initial stages of tissue and organ destruction by T-cell responses in organ rejection and Graft-versus-host disease. Using this approach, we examined the effectiveness of two ribonucleotide reductase inhibitors (RRI), Didox and Trimidox, to inhibit T-cell activation and proliferation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The compounds caused a marked reduction in the proliferative responses of T-cells, which is also accompanied by decreased secretion of cytokines IL-6, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-13, IL-10 and IL-4.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In conclusion, these data provide critical information to justify further investigation into the potential use of these compounds post allogeneic bone marrow transplantation to alleviate graft-versus-host disease thereby achieving better outcomes.</p

Stable Isotope-Resolved Metabolomics Shows Metabolic Resistance to Anti-Cancer Selenite in 3D Spheroids Versus 2D Cell Cultures

Conventional two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures are grown on rigid plastic substrates with unrealistic concentration gradients of O2, nutrients, and treatment agents. More importantly, 2D cultures lack cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions, which are critical for regulating cell behavior and functions. There are several three-dimensional (3D) cell culture systems such as Matrigel, hydrogels, micropatterned plates, and hanging drop that overcome these drawbacks but they suffer from technical challenges including long spheroid formation times, difficult handling for high throughput assays, and/or matrix contamination for metabolic studies. Magnetic 3D bioprinting (M3DB) can circumvent these issues by utilizing nanoparticles that enable spheroid formation and growth via magnetizing cells. M3DB spheroids have been shown to emulate tissue and tumor microenvironments while exhibiting higher resistance to toxic agents than their 2D counterparts. It is, however, unclear if and how such 3D systems impact cellular metabolic networks, which may determine altered toxic responses in cells. We employed a Stable Isotope-Resolved Metabolomics (SIRM) approach with 13C6-glucose as tracer to map central metabolic networks both in 2D cells and M3DB spheroids formed from lung (A549) and pancreatic (PANC1) adenocarcinoma cells without or with an anti-cancer agent (sodium selenite). We found that the extent of 13C-label incorporation into metabolites of glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, the pentose phosphate pathway, and purine/pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis was largely comparable between 2D and M3DB culture systems for both cell lines. The exceptions were the reduced capacity for de novo synthesis of pyrimidine and sugar nucleotides in M3DB than 2D cultures of A549 and PANC1 cells as well as the presence of gluconeogenic activity in M3DB spheroids of PANC1 cells but not in the 2D counterpart. More strikingly, selenite induced much less perturbation of these pathways in the spheroids relative to the 2D counterparts in both cell lines, which is consistent with the corresponding lesser effects on morphology and growth. Thus, the increased resistance of cancer cell spheroids to selenite may be linked to the reduced capacity of selenite to perturb these metabolic pathways necessary for growth and survival

Au large de Fos-sur-Mer – Le complexe portuaire antique du golfe de Fos

Depuis 2014, le programme de recherche conduit par le Drassm et le Centre Camille-Jullian (UMR 7299) sur le système portuaire de Fos et le canal de Marius, donne lieu à une campagne de terrain qui prend la forme d’un chantier-école dédié aux étudiants du Master of Maritime and Coastal Archaeology (MoMArch) mis en œuvre depuis la rentrée universitaire 2013 par Aix-Marseille Université et le Drassm. L’équipe technique et scientifique des opérations de terrain constitue également l’équipe d’enca..

Dietary fibre intake is associated with serum levels of uraemic toxins in children with chronic kidney disease

Imbalanced colonic microbial metabolism plays a pivotal role in generating protein-bound uraemic toxins (PBUTs), which accumulate with deteriorating kidney function and contribute to the uraemic burden of children with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Dietary choices impact the gut microbiome and metabolism. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between dietary fibre and gut-derived PBUTs in paediatric CKD. Sixty-one (44 male) CKD children (9 +/- 5 years) were prospectively followed for two years. Dietary fibre intake was evaluated by either 24-h recalls (73%) or 3-day food records (27%) at the same time of blood sampling for assessment of total and free serum levels of different PBUTs using liquid chromatography. We used linear mixed models to assess associations between fibre intake and PBUT levels. We found an inverse association between increase in fibre consumption (g/day) and serum concentrations of free indoxyl sulfate (-3.1% (-5.9%; -0.3%) (p = 0.035)), free p-cresyl sulfate (-2.5% (-4.7%; -0.3%) (p = 0.034)), total indole acetic acid (IAA) (-1.6% (-3.0%; -0.3%) (p = 0.020)), free IAA (-6.6% (-9.3%; -3.7%) (p < 0.001)), total serum p-cresyl glucuronide (pCG) (-3.0% (-5.6%; -0.5%) (p = 0.021)) and free pCG levels (-3.3% (-5.8%; -0.8%) (p = 0.010)). The observed associations between dietary fibre intake and the investigated PBUTs highlight potential benefits of fibre intake for the paediatric CKD population. The present observational findings should inform and guide adaptations of dietary prescriptions in children with CKD

Reactivity of (1-methoxycarbonylpentadienyl)iron(1+) cations with hydride, methyl, and nitrogen nucleophiles

The reaction of tricarbonyl and (dicarbonyl)triphenylphosphine (1-methoxycarbonyl-pentadientyl)iron(1+) cations 7 and 8 with methyl lithium, NaBH3CN, or potassium phthalimide affords (pentenediyl)iron complexes 9a-c and 11a-b, while reaction with dimethylcuprate, gave (E,Z-diene)iron complexes 10 and 12. Oxidatively induced-reductive elimination of 9a-c gave vinylcyclopropanecarboxylates 17a-c. The optically active vinylcyclopropane (+)-17a, prepared from (1S)-7, undergoes olefin cross-metathesis with excess (+)-18 to yield (+)-19, a C9C16 synthon for the antifungal agent ambruticin. Alternatively reaction of 7 with methanesulfonamide or trimethylsilylazide gave (E,E-diene)iron complexes 14d and e. Huisgen [3 + 2] cyclization of the (azidodienyl)iron complex 14e with alkynes afforded triazoles 25a-e