Efficacy of a Mycotoxin Binder against Dietary Fumonisin, Deoxynivalenol, and Zearalenone in Rats

It was hypothesized that a mycotoxin binder, Grainsure E, would inhibit adverse effects of a mixture of fumonisin B1, deoxynivalenol, and zearalenone in rats. For 14 and 28 days, 8–10 Sprague–Dawley rats were fed control diet, Grainsure E (0.5%), toxins (7 μg fumonisin B1/g, 8 μg of deoxynivalenol/g and 0.2 μg of zearalenone/g), toxins (12 μg of fumonisin B1/g, 9 μg of deoxynivalenol/g, and 0.2 μg of zearalenone/g + Grainsure E), or pair-fed to control for food intake of toxin-fed rats. After 28 days, decreased body weight gain was prevented by Grainsure E in toxin-fed female rats, indicating partial protection against deoxynivalenol and fumonisin B1. Two effects of fumonisin B1 were partly prevented by Grainsure E in toxin-fed rats, increased plasma alanine transaminase (ALT) and urinary sphinganine/sphingosine, but sphinganine/sphingosine increase was not prevented in females at the latter time point. Grainsure E prevented some effects of fumonisin B1 and deoxynivalenol in rats

Reconciliation of the carbon budget in the ocean’s twilight zone

Photosynthesis in the surface ocean produces approximately 100 gigatonnes of organic carbon per year, of which 5 to 15 per cent is exported to the deep ocean1, 2. The rate at which the sinking carbon is converted into carbon dioxide by heterotrophic organisms at depth is important in controlling oceanic carbon storage3. It remains uncertain, however, to what extent surface ocean carbon supply meets the demand of water-column biota; the discrepancy between known carbon sources and sinks is as much as two orders of magnitude4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Here we present field measurements, respiration rate estimates and a steady-state model that allow us to balance carbon sources and sinks to within observational uncertainties at the Porcupine Abyssal Plain site in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean. We find that prokaryotes are responsible for 70 to 92 per cent of the estimated remineralization in the twilight zone (depths of 50 to 1,000 metres) despite the fact that much of the organic carbon is exported in the form of large, fast-sinking particles accessible to larger zooplankton. We suggest that this occurs because zooplankton fragment and ingest half of the fast-sinking particles, of which more than 30 per cent may be released as suspended and slowly sinking matter, stimulating the deep-ocean microbial loop. The synergy between microbes and zooplankton in the twilight zone is important to our understanding of the processes controlling the oceanic carbon sink

Application de l'A.D.L, pour la mesure du champ de vitesses instationnaires de llecoulement a Ilechappement d'un moteur a combustion interne

We present experimental results of instantaneous velocity measurement, which were obtained by application of the laser Doppler anemometry (L.D.A.) at the exhaust pipe of a reciprocating engine under real working conditions. First of all, we show that the instantaneous velocity is monodimensional along a straight exhaust pipe, and that the boundary layer develops within a 2 mm thickness. We also show that the cylinder discharges in two phases : the blow down period and the final part of exhaust stroke. We also make obvious, that the flow escapes very quickly : its velocity varies between - 100 m/s and 200 m/s within a period shorter than 1 ms ; thereby, we do record the acoustic resonance phenomenon, when the engine speed is greater than 3 000 rpm. Finally, we show that in the exhaust pipe the apparent fluctuation - i.e. the cyclic dispersion and the actual turbulence - may reach 15%.Nous présentons des résultats expérimentaux du champ de vitesses instationnaires, obtenus par adaptation et application de la vélocimétrie laser interférentielle communément appelée à effet Doppler (L.D.A.), à l'échappement d'un moteur altematif à combustion inteme en fonctionnement nominal. Tout d'abord, nous montrons que dans un tube d'échappement long et droit, la vitesse instantanée est bien monodimensionnelle et que l'écoulement occupe la quasitotalité de la section droite géométrique du tube (une couche limite d'épaisseur inférieure à 2 mm se développe très près de la paroi du tube). Nous pouvons également décrire la vidange du cylindre du moteur étudié en deux phases principales : bouffée d'échappement et refoulement des gaz brûlés par le piston. Nous mettons de même en évidence l'état très pulsé de l'écoulement, puisqu'en un intervalle de temps inférieur à 1 ms, la vitesse de l'écoulement varie de - 100 m/s à 200 m/s ; nous enregistrons ainsi l'apparition du phénomène de résonance acoustique à des vitesses de rotation supérieures à 3 500 tr/mn. Enfin, nous montrons qu'à l'échappement d'un moteur, l'intensité de fluctuation maximale, qui regroupe la dispersion cyclique et la turbulence proprement dite, peut atteindre 15%

Enzyme inhibitory, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Anabasis articulata phenolic-rich extract; in vitro, in vivo, and in silico studies

The present study aimed at characterizing the phenolic composition of the aqueous extract from Anabasis articulata and its biological properties, in terms of in vitro antioxidant, enzyme inhibitory, and in vivo anti-inflammatory effects. The phytocomplex was investigated by HPLC-DAD analysis, whereas total phenolics, tannins and flavonoids using spectrophotometric methods. The antioxidant property of the extract was determined applying four assays (i.e. total antioxidant capacity, reducing power, DPPH, and β-carotene-linoleic acid bleaching). The enzymatic inhibitory function was evaluated against tyrosinase and acetylcholinesterase, whereas toxicological and anti-inflammatory aspects through in vivo evaluations. More in detail, twenty-one specific phenolic compounds were successfully detected, identified, and quantified in the plant extract, which showed considerable antioxidant potential. The aqueous preparation also revealed a high anti-tyrosinase and anti-acetylcholinesterase activity. In particular, an in-silico prediction analysis, by molecular docking approach, was performed to understand which plant metabolite from A. articulata could be potentially responsible for acetylcholinesterase inhibition, favoring the identification of putative new compounds useful for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. All the present evidence could partially explain and justify the therapeutic efficacy of the Algerian traditional medicine linked to the application of A. articulata aqueous extract

Basin-wide aphotic N2 fixation in the Mediterranean Sea

Original research paperRecent findings indicate that N2fixation is significant in aphotic waters, presumably due toheterotrophic diazotrophs depending on organic matter for their nutrition. However, the relationshipbetween organic matter and heterotrophic N2fixation remains unknown. Here we explore N2fixation inthe deep chlorophyll maximum and underneath deep waters across the whole Mediterranean Sea andrelate it to organic matter composition, characterized by optical and molecular methods. Our N2fixation rateswere in the range of those previously reported for the euphotic zone of the Mediterranean Sea (up to0.43 nmol N L1d1) and were significantly correlated to the presence of relatively labile organic matter withfluorescence and molecular formula properties representative for peptides and unsaturated aliphatics andassociated with the presence of more oxygenated ventilated water masses. Finally, and despite that theaphotic N2fixation contributes largely to total water column diazotrophic activity (>50%), its contribution tooverall nitrogen inputs to the basin is negligible (<0.5%).Project HOTMIX (CTM2011-30010-C02-01 and CTM2011-30010-C02-02) ; the MarieSklodowska-Curie Actions of theEuropean Union’s Seventh FrameworkProgramme (FP7/2007-2013) undergrant agreement 625185; the Institut de Recherchepour le Développement (IRD); FPI and short stay fellowships from the Spanish Ministry ofEconomy and Competitiveness; the CSIC Program“Junta para la Ampliación de Estudios”cofinanced by the ESF and a collaborative grant with S.B.from MOST Israel and the High Councilfor Science and Technology (HCST)Versión del editor4,78