Les plantes ligneuses spontanées à usages culinaires au Burkina Faso

L'homme vivant de la cueillette existe toujours au Burkina Faso. Les espèces que nous allons exposer par la suite ne font pas l'objet d'une culture. La plupart certes sont des espèces protégées lors des défrichements. Elles caractérisent souvent les différents faciès de savane rencontrés à travers le pays. Certaines ont des usages généralisés en temps normal, d'autres le sont en temps de disette ou de soudure. Ces espèces ligneuses sont à usages culinaires par leurs feuilles, leurs graines et leurs exsudats. Leur composition chimique montre un certain équilibre énergétique à la consommation et permet de comprendre la santé de nos paysans malgré ce qu'on laisse entendre sur la pauvreté et la sous-alimentation. Dans le cadre de nos travaux pour une meilleure connaissance des espèces tant sur le plan taxonomique, biologique qu'ethnobotanique, nous avons mené depuis cinq ans une enquête sur les différentes utilisations des espèces ligneuses. Le présent travail concerne particulièrement les espèces ligneuses dont certains organes sont utilisés dans alimentation humaine. Nous nous sommes limités à ne parler que d'une vingtaine d'espèces

Sulforaphane causes cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human glioblastoma u87mg and u373mg cell lines under hypoxic conditions

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most prevalent and aggressive primary brain tumor. The median survival rate from diagnosis ranges from 15 to 17 months because the tumor is resistant to most therapeutic strategies. GBM exhibits microvascular hyperplasia and pronounced necrosis triggered by hypoxia. Sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate derived from cruciferous vegetables, has already demonstrated the ability to inhibit cell proliferation, by provoking cell cycle arrest, and leading to apoptosis in many cell lines. In this study, we investigated the antineoplastic effects of SFN [20–80 µM for 48 h] in GBM cells under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Cell viability assays, flow cytometry, and Western blot results revealed that SFN could induce apoptosis of GBM cells in a dose-dependent manner, under both conditions. In particular, SFN significantly induced caspase 3/7 activation and DNA fragmentation. Moreover, our results demonstrated that SFN suppressed GBM cells proliferation by arresting the cell cycle at the S-phase, also under hypoxic condition, and that these effects may be due in part to its ability to induce oxidative stress by reducing glutathione levels and to increase the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs). Overall, we hypothesized that SFN treatment might serve as a potential therapeutic strategy, alone or in combination, against GBM

P-glycoprotein (ABCB1) and oxidative stress: Focus on Alzheimer's disease

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, in particular P-glycoprotein (encoded by ABCB1), are important and selective elements of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and they actively contribute to brain homeostasis. Changes in ABCB1 expression and/or function at the BBB may not only alter the expression and function of other molecules at the BBB but also affect brain environment. Over the last decade, a number of reports have shown that ABCB1 actively mediates the transport of beta amyloid (A\u3b2) peptide. This finding has opened up an entirely new line of research in the field of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Indeed, despite intense research efforts, AD remains an unsolved pathology and effective therapies are still unavailable. Here, we review the crucial role of ABCB1 in the A\u3b2 transport and how oxidative stress may interfere with this process. A detailed understanding of ABCB1 regulation can provide the basis for improved neuroprotection in AD and also enhanced therapeutic drug delivery to the brain

L'apport de l’inventaire des aires classées et protégées dans la connaissance de la diversité végétale du Burkina Faso

L’inventaire floristique du Burkina Faso est loin d’être clos. Les récentes investigations floristiques ont permis de recenser un grand nombre d’espèces qui n’avaient jamais été mentionnées sur la liste floristique nationale. Une partie de ces espèces sont d’ailleurs guinéocongolaises. Cet inventaire a concerné les aires classées et protégées situées dans le secteur Sudsoudanien. Les richesses floristiques se retrouvent concentrées dans ces aires classées et protégées car ce sont des formations qui jouissent d’une relative bonne gestion par rapport aux autres aires non protégées qui ont été fortement dégradées par l’homme. L’objectif de cette communication est de donner les informations issues de ces différentes investigations sur l’état de connaissance de la diversité végétale du Burkina Faso avec un accent particulier sur le mode de gestion et les utilisations de quelques espèces de la zone sud soudanienne

Cognitive functioning, cardiovascular activity, and state affect in men with and without a parental history of hypertension

The present study investigated cognitive functioning in young normotensive males with and without a parental history of hypertension (PH+ and PH-, respectively). Cardiovascular and state affect responses at rest and during testing were examined in order to determine whether they can account for any parental history group differences in cognitive functioning. PH+ participants performed more poorly on Block Design, Visual Span, and Sternberg Memory Search Task when compared to PH- individuals. Also, PH+ participants reported higher anxiety and irritability during Block Design than PH- participants. PH+ participants performed more poorly on Block Design even after controlling for group differences in state affect responses. There were no parental history group differences in resting cardiovascular activity and cardiovascular reactivity during testing. However, cardiovascular activity at rest, and to a lesser degree, cardiovascular reactivity during testing were related to test performance for the entire sample. More specifically, decreased baseline peripheral resistance and increased baseline cardiac activity were related to better test performance. During testing, only increased cardiac reactivity was related to better test performance. The present results suggest that parental history group differences in cognitive functioning are independent of cardiovascular activity and state affect, even though cardiovascular activity may be related to cognitive functioning

Muscleblind-like 3 deficit results in a spectrum of age-associated pathologies observed in myotonic dystrophy.

Myotonic dystrophy type I (DM1) exhibits distinctive disease specific phenotypes and the accelerated onset of a spectrum of age-associated pathologies. In DM1, dominant effects of expanded CUG repeats result in part from the inactivation of the muscleblind-like (MBNL) proteins. To test the role of MBNL3, we deleted Mbnl3 exon 2 (Mbnl3(ΔE2)) in mice and examined the onset of age-associated diseases over 4 to 13 months of age. Accelerated onset of glucose intolerance with elevated insulin levels, cardiac systole deficits, left ventricle hypertrophy, a predictor of a later onset of heart failure and the development of subcapsular and cortical cataracts is observed in Mbnl3(ΔE2) mice. Retention of embryonic splice isoforms in adult organs, a prominent defect in DM1, is not observed in multiple RNAs including the Insulin Receptor (Insr), Cardiac Troponin T (Tnnt2), Lim Domain Binding 3 (Ldb3) RNAs in Mbnl3(ΔE2) mice. Although rare DM1-like splice errors underlying the observed phenotypes cannot be excluded, our data in conjunction with the reported absence of alternative splice errors in embryonic muscles of a similar Mbnl3(ΔE2) mouse by RNA-seq studies, suggest that mechanisms distinct from the adult retention of embryonic splice patterns may make important contributions to the onset of age-associated pathologies in DM1

The use of metal hydrides in fuel cell applications

This paper reviews state-of-the-art developments in hydrogen energy systems which integrate fuel cells with metal hydride-based hydrogen storage. The 187 reference papers included in this review provide an overview of all major publications in the field, as well as recent work by several of the authors of the review. The review contains four parts. The first part gives an overview of the existing types of fuel cells and outlines the potential of using metal hydride stores as a source of hydrogen fuel. The second part of the review considers the suitability and optimisation of different metal hydrides based on their energy efficient thermal integration with fuel cells. The performances of metal hydrides are considered from the viewpoint of the reversible heat driven interaction of the metal hydrides with gaseous H2. Efficiencies of hydrogen and heat exchange in hydrogen stores to control H2 charge/discharge flow rates are the focus of the third section of the review and are considered together with metal hydride-fuel cell system integration issues and the corresponding engineering solutions. Finally, the last section of the review describes specific hydrogen-fuelled systems presented in the available reference data.IS

Disorder driven structural and dielectric properties of silicon substituted strontium titanate

Financial support from NSF Grant No. NSF-RII-0701525 was acknowledged. S.D. is thankful to DOD for doctoral fellowship under Grant No. W911NF-11-1-0204. S.P.P. is grateful to NSF for financial assistance under Grant No: NSF-EFRI RESTOR # 1038272.A systematic study on structural, microstructural, optical, dielectric, and electrical properties of phase-pure silicon-modified SrTiO3 polycrystalline electroceramics synthesized using high energy solid state reaction techniques is presented. The asymmetry and splitting in the x-ray diffractometer spectra and the observation of first order transverse optical TO2 and longitudinal optical LO4 modes in Raman spectra (nominally forbidden) revealed the distortion in the cubic lattice as a result of breaking of inversion symmetry due to doping. A bandgap Eg of 3.27 eV was determined for the sample by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. A high dielectric constant of -400 and very low dielectric loss of -0.03 were obtained at 100 kHz near ambient conditions. The temperature dependence of the dielectric data displayed features of high temperature relaxor ferroelectric behavior as evidence of existence of polar nano-regions. The ac conductivity as a function of frequency showed features typical of universal dynamic response and obeyed a power law σac = σdc+Aωn . The temperature dependent dc conductivity followed an Arrhenius relation with activation energy of 123 meV in the 200–500 K temperature range. The linear dielectric response of Pt/SrSi0.03Ti0.97O3/Pt dielectric capacitors was well characterized. The measured leakage current was exceptionally low, 13 nA/cm2 at 8.7 kV/cm, revealing an interface blocked bulk conduction mechanism.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe