Oilseeds as Functional Foods: Content and Composition of Many Phytochemicals and Therapeutic Alternatives

Oilseeds composition has been studied extensively, but recently it has been thoroughly investigated considering especially the phytochemicals representing the minor components. This interest is connected with the activity of such compounds against cardiovascular diseases, lipid oxidation, protein cross-linking and DNA mutations and hemostasis function, which prevent the attack of biomolecules by free radicals. This chapter book could aim to give an overview of the different uses of several oilseeds as bioactive foods, focusing on their active constituents (phytosterols, polyphenols, tocopherols, tocotrienols, and carotenoids) and their content in oilseeds. We will also focus on the beneficial aspects of theses nutraceuticals in human health

Gamma-D crystallin gene (CRYGD) mutation causes autosomal dominant congenital cerulean cataracts

Congenital cataracts are a major cause of bilateral visual impairment in childhood. We mapped the gene responsible for autosomal congenital cerulean cataracts to chromosome 2q33-35 in a four generation family of Moroccan descent. The maximum lod score (7.19 at recombination fraction theta=0) was obtained for marker D2S2208 near the g-crystallin gene (CRYG) cluster. Sequencing of the coding regions of the CRYGA, B, C, and D genes showed the presence of a heterozygous C>A transversion in exon 2 of CRYGD that is associated with cataracts in this family. This mutation resulted in a proline to threonine substitution at amino acid 23 of the protein in the first of the four Greek key motifs that characterise this protein. We show that although the x ray crystallography modelling does not indicate any change of the backbone conformation, the mutation affects a region of the Greek key motif that is important for determining the topology of this protein fold. Our data suggest strongly that the proline to threonine substitution may alter the protein folding or decrease the thermodynamic stability or solubility of the protein. Furthermore, this is the first report of a mutation in this gene resulting in autosomal dominant congenital cerulean cataracts

Profile of patients with HPV infection at the regional hospital of Saint-Louis, Senegal

Background: Objectives of current study was to define the sociodemographic characteristics of patients, to determine the frequency of HPV infection at the CHRSL and to describe factors associated with HPV infection. Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted in the gynecology-obstetrics department of the Saint Louis Regional Hospital Center from November 11, 2019 to November 11, 2021, a period of 24 months. We studied sociodemographic, clinical and test results characteristics. Samples were taken from patients in the gynaecological position using a dedicated kit (cytobrush and tube). Viral research was carried out using the Atila Biosystems device for amplification and detection of viral DNA. This test genotypes HPV 16, 18 and 45, and detects 12 other HR HPVs (31, 33, 35, 39, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66 and 68) simultaneously using three probes labelled with different fluorophores. Analysis was performed using Epi-Info software and Excel 2010. Results: The study population comprised 128 patients. The mean age of the patients was 41.95 years, with extremes of 23 and 70 years. They were married (92.97%) and housewives (46.88%). Almost all patients (77.34%) were genitally active. The average age at marriage was 21.78 years, and polygamous households predominated (53.91%). The average age at first intercourse was 20.05 years. The average age at first pregnancy was 21.78. Over (57.81%) of patients had at least two partners. Incense was used in 97.66% of cases. The viral HPV test was positive in (38.28%) of patients. High-risk papillomaviruses were the most common, at 63.27%. Colposcopy was performed in 17.19%; normal and satisfactory in (63.64%) of patients, with 22.27% of cervical biopsies, and histology showed one CIN2 and two CIN3. Therapeutically, one thermoablation and two hysterectomies were performed. Conclusions: HPV viral typing in primary screening for cervical cancer offers opportunities and remains realistic and feasible in less developed countries such as Senegal, despite modest resources

Hemiselmis andersenii and Chlorella stigmatophora as new sources of high‐value compounds: a lipidomic approach

To unlock the potential of Chlorella stigmatophora (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) and Hemiselmis andersenii (Cryptophyceae, Cryptophyta) as natural reactors for biotechnological exploitation, their lipophilic extracts were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy with Attenuated Total Reflectance (FTIR-ATR) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) before and after alkaline hydrolysis. The GC-MS analysis enabled the identification of 62 metabolites-namely fatty acids (27), aliphatic alcohols (17), monoglycerides (7), sterols (4), and other compounds (7). After alkaline hydrolysis, monounsaturated fatty acids increased by as much as 87%, suggesting that the esterified compounds were mainly neutral lipids. Hemiselmis andersenii yielded the highest Σω3/Σω6 ratio (7.26), indicating that it is a good source of ω3 fatty acids, in comparison to C. stigmatophora (Σω3/Σω6 = 1.24). Both microalgae presented significant amounts of aliphatic alcohols (6.81-10.95 mg · g dw-1 ), which are recognized by their cholesterol-lowering properties. The multivariate analysis allowed visualization of the chemical divergence among H. andersenii lipophilic extracts before and after alkaline hydrolysis, as well as species-specific differences. Chlorella stigmatophora showed to be a valuable source of essential fatty acids for nutraceuticals, whereas H. andersenii, due to its high chemical diversity, seems to be suitable for different fields of application.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Modélisation du perçage vibratoire sur UPA

Les unités de perçage automatiques ont été récemment associées à des technologies permettant de percer en mode vibratoire pour favoriser l'évacuation des copeaux métalliques lors des perçages d'empilages multi-matériaux. Après une présentation de l'apport du vibratoire en perçage, un état de l'art des systèmes vibratoires utilisés sur UPA sera présenté. Dans un deuxième temps, une modélisation du système vibratoire à oscillations forcées sera exposée. Des résultats expérimentaux seront confrontés au modèle obtenu afin de vérifier sa robustesse et d'évaluer l'efficacité du perçage vibratoire

Challenges in QCD matter physics --The scientific programme of the Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment at FAIR

Substantial experimental and theoretical efforts worldwide are devoted to explore the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter. At LHC and top RHIC energies, QCD matter is studied at very high temperatures and nearly vanishing net-baryon densities. There is evidence that a Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) was created at experiments at RHIC and LHC. The transition from the QGP back to the hadron gas is found to be a smooth cross over. For larger net-baryon densities and lower temperatures, it is expected that the QCD phase diagram exhibits a rich structure, such as a first-order phase transition between hadronic and partonic matter which terminates in a critical point, or exotic phases like quarkyonic matter. The discovery of these landmarks would be a breakthrough in our understanding of the strong interaction and is therefore in the focus of various high-energy heavy-ion research programs. The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at FAIR will play a unique role in the exploration of the QCD phase diagram in the region of high net-baryon densities, because it is designed to run at unprecedented interaction rates. High-rate operation is the key prerequisite for high-precision measurements of multi-differential observables and of rare diagnostic probes which are sensitive to the dense phase of the nuclear fireball. The goal of the CBM experiment at SIS100 (sNN= 2.7--4.9 GeV) is to discover fundamental properties of QCD matter: the phase structure at large baryon-chemical potentials (μB> 500 MeV), effects of chiral symmetry, and the equation of state at high density as it is expected to occur in the core of neutron stars. In this article, we review the motivation for and the physics programme of CBM, including activities before the start of data taking in 2024, in the context of the worldwide efforts to explore high-density QCD matter

Measurements of π±\pi^\pm, K±^\pm, p and pˉ\bar{\textrm{p}} spectra in proton-proton interactions at 20, 31, 40, 80 and 158 GeV/c with the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS

Measurements of inclusive spectra and mean multiplicities of $\pi^\pm$, K$^\pm$, p and $\bar{\textrm{p}}$ produced in inelastic p+p interactions at incident projectile momenta of 20, 31, 40, 80 and 158 GeV/c ($\sqrt{s} =$ 6.3, 7.7, 8.8, 12.3 and 17.3 GeV, respectively) were performed at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron using the large acceptance NA61/SHINE hadron spectrometer. Spectra are presented as function of rapidity and transverse momentum and are compared to predictions of current models. The measurements serve as the baseline in the NA61/SHINE study of the properties of the onset of deconfinement and search for the critical point of strongly interacting matter

Elastic anisotropy of polycrystalline Au films: Modeling and respective contributions of X-ray diffraction, nanoindentation and Brillouin light scattering

Elastic properties of non-textured and {1 1 1}-fiber-textured gold thin films were investigated experimentally by several complementary techniques, namely in situ tensile testing under X-ray diffraction (XRD), nanoindentation and Brillouin light scattering (BLS). Specimens were probed along different directions to reveal the strong effects of elastic anisotropy at the (local) grain and (global) film scales. XRD allows the investigation of both local and global anisotropies, while BLS and nanoindentation are limited to global analyses. A micromechanical model, based on the self-consistent scheme, and accounting for the actual microstructure of the films, is applied to interpret experimental data. Although different types of elastic constants can be determined with the used experimental techniques (static/dynamic, local/global), a good agreement is obtained, showing that comparison of these techniques is feasible when carried out carefully. In particular, the use of a micromechanical model to estimate the effects of the local elastic anisotropy at the film scale is unavoidable. The presented results show that XRD, BLS and nanoindentation should capture anisotropic texture effects on elastic constants measurements for materials with a Zener anisotropy index larger than 2. Conversely, the actual texture of a given specimen should be taken into account for a proper analysis of elastic constants measurements using those three experimental techniques

Challenges in QCD matter physics - The Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment at FAIR

Substantial experimental and theoretical efforts worldwide are devoted to explore the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter. At LHC and top RHIC energies, QCD matter is studied at very high temperatures and nearly vanishing net-baryon densities. There is evidence that a Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) was created at experiments at RHIC and LHC. The transition from the QGP back to the hadron gas is found to be a smooth cross over. For larger net-baryon densities and lower temperatures, it is expected that the QCD phase diagram exhibits a rich structure, such as a first-order phase transition between hadronic and partonic matter which terminates in a critical point, or exotic phases like quarkyonic matter. The discovery of these landmarks would be a breakthrough in our understanding of the strong interaction and is therefore in the focus of various high-energy heavy-ion research programs. The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at FAIR will play a unique role in the exploration of the QCD phase diagram in the region of high net-baryon densities, because it is designed to run at unprecedented interaction rates. High-rate operation is the key prerequisite for high-precision measurements of multi-differential observables and of rare diagnostic probes which are sensitive to the dense phase of the nuclear fireball. The goal of the CBM experiment at SIS100 (sqrt(s_NN) = 2.7 - 4.9 GeV) is to discover fundamental properties of QCD matter: the phase structure at large baryon-chemical potentials (mu_B > 500 MeV), effects of chiral symmetry, and the equation-of-state at high density as it is expected to occur in the core of neutron stars. In this article, we review the motivation for and the physics programme of CBM, including activities before the start of data taking in 2022, in the context of the worldwide efforts to explore high-density QCD matter.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Published in European Physical Journal

The future for Mediterranean wetlands: 50 key issues and 50 important conservation research questions

Wetlands are critically important for biodiversity and human wellbeing, but face a range of challenges. This is especially true in the Mediterranean region, where wetlands support endemic and threatened species and remain integral to human societies, but have been severely degraded in recent decades. Here, in order to raise awareness of future challenges and opportunities for Mediterranean wetlands, and to inform proactive research and management, we identified (a) 50 key issues that might affect Mediterranean wetlands between 2020 and 2050, and (b) 50 important research questions that, if answered, would have the greatest impact on the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands between 2020 and 2050. We gathered ideas through an online survey and review of recent literature. A diverse assessment panel prioritised ideas through an iterative, anonymised, Delphi-like process of scoring, voting and discussion. The prioritised issues included some that are already well known but likely to have a large impact on Mediterranean wetlands in the next 30 years (e.g. the accumulation of dams and reservoirs, plastic pollution and weak governance), and some that are currently overlooked in the context of Mediterranean wetlands (e.g. increasing desalination capacity and development of antimicrobial resistance). Questions largely focused on how best to carry out conservation interventions, or understanding the impacts of threats to inform conservation decision-making. This analysis will support research, policy and practice related to environmental conservation and sustainable development in the Mediterranean, and provides a model for similar analyses elsewhere in the world