Potable water production by membrane processes: membrane characterization using a series of bacterial strains

The aim of this study was to develop a method for characterizing membranes (ultrafiltration and microfiltration) used in drinking water production. The method accounts for the specific behaviour of microorganisms during filtration, namely their deformation under mechanical stress. The leaks of microorganisms are linked to the presence of a small number of defects or abnormally large pores in the membrane structure. Assuming that the defects are cylindrical capillaries, the range of pore diameters concerned by the method lies between 0.05 and 1.2mm

Produire des abricots biologiques: nouvelles variétés prometteuses!

Depuis 2016, Agroscope et le FiBL mènent le projet «produire des abricots biologiques». Deux variétés lancées cette année, Lisa et Mia, offrent déjà des possibilités en bio

Die Produktion von Bioaprikosen kommt voran

Mit einer Neuausrichtung des Anbaus mit robusten Sorten und Unterlagen, aber auch mit Witterungsschutzsystemen dürfte die Bioaprikosen-Produktion in Zukunft deutlich ertragssicherer werden

Organic substances against Monilia laxa on apricot – in-vitro and on-farm experiments

Natural substances against Monilia laxa were onfarm and in-vitro tested. According to on-farm tests, some products reached interesting efficacies. The fluctuation of the year and parcel pressures, makes it difficult to perform the results

Effects of membrane alterations on bacterial retention

The study shows the respective roles of skin and support of an ultrafiltration membrane in the retention mechanisms of bacteria (Escherichia coli). For this, pinholes defects of 5–200 μm in diameter were performed through ultrafiltration polymeric membranes and their impact was assessed on bacterialretention in a stirred cell when the transmembrane pressure is set at 0.5 bars. Various techniques have been used to make the defects such as a microhardness tester or femtosecond lasers. As long as the selective skin is not altered through its whole thickness, the membrane keeps a retention efficiency equivalent to the one of an uncompromised membrane. The retention by the macroporous support is also investigated. In case of membrane with defects of cylindrical geometry, experimental results are compared to calculated data obtained with a pore flow model, and the validity of this model is discussed

Role of the cell-wall structure in the retention of bacteria by microfiltration membranes

This experimental study investigates the retention of bacteria by porous membranes. The transfer of bacteria larger than the nominal pore size of microfiltration track-etched membranes has been studied for several kinds of bacterial strains. This unexpected transfer does not correlate to the hydrophobicity,neither to the surface charge of the microorganism, as suggested in previous reports. We conclude that,in our conditions, the kind of bacteria (Gram-positive or Gram-negative) is finally the most important parameter. As the distinction between those two types of bacteria is related to the cell-wall structure, we provide an experimental evidence, via the action of an antibiotic, that the cell-wall flexibility triggers the transfer of the bacteria through artificial membranes, when the pores are smaller in size than the cell

La production suisse d’abricots bio progresse

Une réorientation des cultures bio d’abricotiers basée sur des variétés et des portegreffes robustes, voire des systèmes de protection contre les intempéries dans les régions humides, devrait permettre à l’avenir d’améliorer la sécurité de la production

Cell-penetrating peptide conjugates of peptide nucleic acids (PNA) as inhibitors of HIV-1 Tat-dependent trans-activation in cells

The trans-activation response (TAR) RNA stem–loop that occurs at the 5′ end of HIV RNA transcripts is an important antiviral target and is the site of interaction of the HIV-1 Tat protein together with host cellular factors. Oligonucleotides and their analogues targeted to TAR are potential antiviral candidates. We have investigated a range of cell penetrating peptide (CPP) conjugates of a 16mer peptide nucleic acid (PNA) analogue targeted to the apical stem–loop of TAR and show that disulfide-linked PNA conjugates of two types of CPP (Transportan or a novel chimeric peptide R(6)-Penetratin) exhibit dose-dependent inhibition of Tat-dependent trans-activation in a HeLa cell assay when incubated for 24 h. Activity is reached within 6 h if the lysosomotropic reagent chloroquine is co-administered. Fluorescein-labelled stably-linked conjugates of Tat, Transportan or Transportan TP10 with PNA were inactive when delivered alone, but attained trans-activation inhibition in the presence of chloroquine. Confocal microscopy showed that such fluorescently labelled CPP–PNA conjugates were sequestered in endosomal or membrane-bound compartments of HeLa cells, which varied in appearance depending on the CPP type. Co-administration of chloroquine was seen in some cases to release fluorescence from such compartments into the nucleus, but with different patterns depending on the CPP. The results show that CPP–PNA conjugates of different types can inhibit Tat-dependent trans-activation in HeLa cells and have potential for development as antiviral agents. Endosomal or membrane release is a major factor limiting nuclear delivery and trans-activation inhibition

Syntaphilin controls a mitochondrial rheostat for proliferation-motility decisions in cancer.

Tumors adapt to an unfavorable microenvironment by controlling the balance between cell proliferation and cell motility, but the regulators of this process are largely unknown. Here, we show that an alternatively spliced isoform of syntaphilin (SNPH), a cytoskeletal regulator of mitochondrial movements in neurons, is directed to mitochondria of tumor cells. Mitochondrial SNPH buffers oxidative stress and maintains complex II-dependent bioenergetics, sustaining local tumor growth while restricting mitochondrial redistribution to the cortical cytoskeleton and tumor cell motility. Conversely, introduction of stress stimuli to the microenvironment, including hypoxia, acutely lowered SNPH levels, resulting in bioenergetics defects and increased superoxide production. In turn, this suppressed tumor cell proliferation but increased tumor cell invasion via greater mitochondrial trafficking to the cortical cytoskeleton. Loss of SNPH or expression of an SNPH mutant lacking the mitochondrial localization sequence resulted in increased metastatic dissemination in xenograft or syngeneic tumor models in vivo. Accordingly, tumor cells that acquired the ability to metastasize in vivo constitutively downregulated SNPH and exhibited higher oxidative stress, reduced cell proliferation, and increased cell motility. Therefore, SNPH is a stress-regulated mitochondrial switch of the cell proliferation-motility balance in cancer, and its pathway may represent a therapeutic target

Endothelial Cells Expressing Endothelial and Mesenchymal Cell Gene Products in Lung Tissue From Patients With Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether lung endothelial cells (ECs) from patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc)-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD) express mesenchymal cell-specific proteins and gene transcripts, indicative of the occurrence of endothelial-to-mesenchymal phenotypic transition (EndoMT). METHODS: Lung tissue from 6 patients with SSc-associated pulmonary fibrosis was examined by histopathology and immunohistochemistry. Confocal laser microscopy was utilized to assess the simultaneous expression of EC and myofibroblast molecular markers. CD31+CD102+ ECs were isolated from the lung tissue of 2 patients with SSc-associated ILD and 2 normal control subjects, and the expression of EC and mesenchymal cell markers and other relevant genes was analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescence microscopy, and Western blotting. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical staining revealed cells expressing the EC-specific marker CD31 in the subendothelial, perivascular, and parenchymal regions of the lungs from all SSc patients. Confocal microscopy identified cells displaying simultaneous expression of von Willebrand factor and α-smooth muscle actin in small and medium-sized arterioles in the SSc lung tissue but not in normal control lungs. CD31+CD102+ ECs isolated from SSc lungs expressed high levels of mesenchymal cell-specific genes (type I collagen, type III collagen, and fibronectin), EC-specific genes (type IV collagen and VE-cadherin), profibrotic genes (transforming growth factor β1 and connective tissue growth factor), and genes encoding EndoMT-related transcription factors (TWIST1 and SNAI2). CONCLUSION: Cells coexpressing EC- and mesenchymal cell-specific molecules are present in the lungs of patients with SSc-associated ILD. CD31+CD102+ ECs isolated from SSc lungs simultaneously expressed mesenchymal cell- and EC-specific transcripts and proteins. Collectively, these observations demonstrate the occurrence of EndoMT in the lungs of patients with SSc-associated ILD