Search results for " Skin"

Food Sensation Modulates Locomotion by Dopamine and Neuropeptide Signaling in a Distributed Neuronal Network

2018

Finding food and remaining at a food source are crucial survival strategies. We show how neural circuits and signaling molecules regulate these food-related behaviors in Caenorhabditis elegans. In the absence of food, AVK interneurons release FLP-1 neuropeptides that inhibit motorneurons to regulate body posture and velocity, thereby promoting dispersal. Conversely, AVK photoinhibition promoted dwelling behavior. We identified FLP-1 receptors required for these effects in distinct motoneurons. The DVA interneuron antagonizes signaling from AVK by releasing cholecystokinin-like neuropeptides that potentiate cholinergic neurons, in response to dopaminergic neurons that sense food. Dopamine al…

2019

The massive infiltration of lymphocytes into the skin is a hallmark of numerous human skin disorders. By co-culturing murine keratinocytes with splenic T cells we demonstrate here that T cells affect and control the synthesis and secretion of chemokines by keratinocytes. While pre-activated CD8+T cells induce the synthesis of CXCL9 and CXCL10 in keratinocytes and keep in check the synthesis of CXCL1, CXCL5, and CCL20, keratinocytes dampen the synthesis of CCL3 and CCL4 in pre-activated CD8+T cells. One key molecule is IFN-γ that is synthesized by CD8+T cells under the control of NFATc1 and NFATc2. CD8+T cells deficient for both NFAT factors are unable to induce CXCL9 and CXCL10 expression. …

Starter cultures as biocontrol strategy to prevent Brettanomyces bruxellensis proliferation in wine

2017

Brettanomyces bruxellensis is a common and significant wine spoilage microorganism. B. bruxellensis strains generally detain the molecular basis to produce compounds that are detrimental for the organoleptic quality of the wine, including some classes of volatile phenols that derive from the sequential bioconversion of specific hydroxycinnamic acids such as ferulate and p-coumarate. Although B. bruxellensis can be detected at any stage of the winemaking process, it is typically isolated at the end of the alcoholic fermentation (AF), before the staring of the spontaneous malolactic fermentation (MLF) or during barrel aging. For this reason, the endemic diffusion of B. bruxellensis leads to c…

Food healthy knowledge, attitudes and practices: Survey of the general public and food handlers

2017

AbstractModifying the energy content of foods, particularly foods eaten away from home, is important in addressing the obesity epidemic. Food handlers in the restaurant industry are uniquely placed to influence the provision of reduced-calorie foods, but little is known about their opinions on this issue. The objectives of the present study were to determine the general public and food handlers׳ knowledge and opinions, issues and barriers related to providing these items on the menu, and about the influence of the calorie content of restaurant items on customer intake. The food handlers surveyed had a significantly lower food science knowledge score than the general public. There was signif…

Are children more paternalistic than their mothers when choosing snacks?

2016

International audience; This paper focuses on an experiment in which mothers and their child separately chose between relatively healthy foods (flasks of stewed apples) and relatively unhealthy foods (candy bars). Each participant first filled up a first bag for her/himself, and then, a second one for the other person of the dyad. A simple nutritional message on vitamins and sugar contents of foods was then provided, and subsequently each participant filled up a third bag for her/himself and a fourth one for the other person of the dyad. The results show that before revealing the nutritional message, mothers are, on average, "indulgent", which means that they choose a lower number of relati…

A specific prelimbic-nucleus accumbens pathway controls resilience versus vulnerability to food addiction

2019

Food addiction is linked to obesity and eating disorders and is characterized by a loss of behavioral control and compulsive food intake. Here, using a food addiction mouse model, we report that the lack of cannabinoid type-1 receptor in dorsal telencephalic glutamatergic neurons prevents the development of food addiction-like behavior, which is associated with enhanced synaptic excitatory transmission in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). In contrast, chemogenetic inhibition of neuronal activity in the mPFC-NAc pathway induces compulsive food seeking. Transcriptomic analysis and genetic manipulation identified that increased dopamine D2 receptor express…

Polymers and Biopolymers with Antiviral Activity: Potential Applications for Improving Food Safety

2018

Gastroenteritis and hepatitis, caused by human noroviruses (HuNoVs) and hepatitis A virus (HAV), respectively, are the most common illnesses resulting from the consumption of food contaminated with human enteric viruses. Food-grade polymers can be tailor designed to improve food safety, either as novel food-packaging materials imparting active antimicrobial properties, applied in food contact surfaces to avoid cross-contamination, or as edible coatings to increase fresh produce's shelf life. The incorporation of antimicrobial agents into food-grade polymers can be used to control the food microbiota and even target specific foodborne pathogens to improve microbiological food safety and to e…

Norovirus: The Burden of the Unknown

2018

Human noroviruses (HNoVs) are primarily transmitted by the fecal-oral route, either by person-to-person contact, or by ingestion of contaminated food or water as well as by aerosolization. Moreover, HNoVs significantly contribute to foodborne diseases being the causative agent of one-fifth of acute gastroenteritis worldwide. As a consequence of globalization, transnational outbreaks of foodborne infections are reported with increasing frequency. Therefore, in this review, state-of-the-art information regarding molecular procedures for human norovirus detection in food as well common food processing technologies have been summarized. Besides, the purpose of this chapter is to consolidate bas…

Exploring the biodiversity of two groups of Oenococcus oeni isolated from grape musts and wines: Are they equally diverse?

2016

One hundred and four Oenococcus oeni isolates were characterised by the carbohydrate fermentation (CH) profile and DNA fingerprinting. Forty-four isolates came from grape must, and 60 from wines sampled at the end of alcoholic fermentation or during malolactic fermentation. The grape must isolates fermented more CH than the wine isolates. In genotypical terms, no clear boundary between grape must and wine isolates was found. Diversities were deduced by considering the isolates of grape must and of wine separately and jointly. By considering only CH fermentation abilities, the group of grape must isolates gave higher diversity index (DICH) values than those isolated from wine; i.e., these is…

Effect of Food Thermal Processing on the Composition of the Gut Microbiota.

2018

Cooking modifies food composition due to chemical reactions. Additionally, food composition shapes the human gut microbiota. Thus, the objective of this research was to unravel the effect of different food cooking methods on the structure and functionality of the gut microbiota. Common culinary techniques were applied to five foods, which were submitted to in vitro digestion-fermentation. Furosine, 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural, and furfural were used as Maillard reaction indicators to control the heat treatment. Short-chain fatty acids production was quantified as indicator of healthy metabolic output. Gut microbial community structure was analyzed through 16S rRNA. Both food composition and c…