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The aim of this study was to determine the bacteriological quality of raw mixed vegetable salads served in collective catering in Abidjan and to assess the factors likely to favor contamination. An investigation was conducted to determine the practical risk of contamination. A total of 306 samples were collected and analyzed for the detection and enumeration of Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli and Salmonella according to standard microbiology methods. The most important risk factors were lack of training (96.7%), decontamination (84.0%), cross-contamination of vegetables in contact with fresh chicken or fish (76.7%) and salads that were uncovered and unprotected, thus exposed to the air and at ambient temperature for sale (97.7%). Theprevalence was 100%, 77.8% and 2.6% respectively for Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli and Salmonella. The average load of Enterobacteriaceae and E. coli was 4.93 log 10 (CFU/g) and 1.89 log 10 (CFU/g), respectively. Unsatisfactory microbiological quality samples were 52.3%. The results showed a failure of the sanitary quality in more than half of the products. Raising awareness in all of the workers in the food chain for vegetable salads is thus necessary to protect the health of the consumers.

The main autolysin PA49.5, an enzyme that hydrolyzes or destroys the components of a biological endogenous cell or a tissue, was purified 3045 times from the homogenate of a whole cell extract of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris ATCC 9596 (Mc5), with a recovery yield of 52%. The purification of the protein was carried out through a micro-purification technique using SDS-BigCHAP polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and concentrated with a Microcon-10 filtration system. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the purified enzyme confirmed the presence of only one band having a molecular weight of 49.5 kDa. In view of its insolubility, PA49.5 contained in the cell extract precipitate was solubilized in the presence of 0.1% (w/v) of BigCHAP, a non-ionic detergent. Higher concentrations of this detergent completely inhibited the activity of solubilized PA49.5 or prevented its solubilization. The optimal pH and temperature for PA49.5 enzymatic activity are 7.5 and 45°C respectively. In addition 0.1% or less of PA49.5 significantly increased Mc5 lysis. We observed 55% more lysis with 0.25 μg of purified PA49.5 compared to the control. Gas chromatography analysis of the components of the crude cell extract, of the precipitate and of the supernatant indicates the presence of at least 6 fatty acids. The long-chained fatty acids (e.g. C18:0 and C18:3) detected represent 81.65% of the precipitate from which PA49.5 was purified. Of these two acids, the C18:0 (stearic acid) alone represents 47.40% of the precipitate. Mc5 releases proteins at the beginning (major peak) and at the end (moderate peak) of the exponential stage of growth. Analysis by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with Mc5 cell walls incorporated as the autolysin's substrate identified a band corresponding to PA49.5 in the second peak of protein secretion.

RESUME L'objectif de cette étude était de déterminer la prévalence de Escherichia coli entéropathogènes (ECEP) dans le lait non pasteurisé. Un total de 207 échantillons ont été analysés pour l'identification de E. coli. Les souches ont été caractérisées par réaction de polymérisation en chaîne (PCR) pour la détection des gènes eaeA et bfp et un test a été effectué sur lignée cellulaire Hep-2 pour la détermination des phénotypes d'adhésion caractéristiques. La prévalence des E. coli présentant des gènes de virulence dans le lait non Pasteurisé est de 3,4% (7 souches). La fréquence des ECEP typiques (eaeA, bfp) est de 1,2%. Les ECEP atypiques (eaeA+, bfp-) ont été révélés dans 1,6% des souches. Une adhésion localisée aux cellules Hep-2 a été observée chez 3 (43%) des souches possédant des facteurs de virulence. Le lait non Pasteurisé représente un facteur de risque de développement d'infection à ECEP chez les enfants consommateurs.

The analogue of isoprene, 2-methyl-2-vinyloxirane, a versatile isoprene auxiliary, was reacted with some indolic and imidazolic bases, to add one or more isoprene unit(s), to these compounds. This prenylation was realised by using thermal and microwave assisted pathways, via the nucleophilic opening of the epoxide ring. The biological importance of the prenylated derivatives resides in their potential application as drugs. The aminoacids and small protein biomarkers are obtained from simple epoxide opening reactions. All new compounds were characterised by high resolution NMR, mass spectroscopy, GC-MS and LC-MS as well.

Mucor pepsin, a protease used in milk coagulation, is purified by ion-exchange and by molecular exclusion on Sephadex G100. The molecular weight (MW) is determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions in presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and by molecular exclusion chromatography. Approximate evaluation of molecular mass was conducted by elution of known MW proteins (BSA: 67 kDa, pepsin: 35 kDa and trypsin: 23.8 kDa) on Sephadex G-100 under the same conditions as the experimental sample. The electrophoretic profile shows that the active fraction studied appears as a single homogeneous band (monomeric form). According to the curve calibration, the molecular mass of the coagulant fraction is about 48 kDa. For Mucor, the observed MW value seems to be enigmatic. However, this result is confirmed by a proteomic analysis with close MW values obtained using conventional techniques. The protease studied by the Scafold ver. Software 2.0 and the analysis of the protein similarities indicate a MW of 46 kDa and the protease sequence of 427 amino acids.

Obesity, a major risk factor in numerous pathologies, poses a public health problem. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of the risk of overweight, overweight and obesity, as well as to identify and analyze the risk factors for weight gain among children in Miramichi in New Brunswick's Horizon Health Network (HHN). This descriptive cross-sectional study was done between 2009 and 2014. The study population was composed of 335 children (185 boys and 150 girls) ages 0 to 42 months and their parents. Overweight and obesity were determined according to World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria adapted for Canada. A logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the risk factors associated with overweight and obesity. The prevalence of risk for overweight is 21% at birth as opposed to 55% at 42 months (both sexes together), and the prevalence of risk for overweight including obesity affects 11.8% of children, that is, 12.7% of boys as opposed to 10.94% of girls (p < 0.0001). The prevalence among boys is 1.2 times that among girls. This study also reveals that at 42 months, the average prevalence of obesity is 6.5% (8% for boys and 5% for girls). The mothers of overweight children have a higher post-pregnancy BMI (32.78 ± 4.16 kg/m 2) than do the mothers of children who are a healthy weight (26.17 ± 7.90 kg/m 2) (p < 0.0001). Moreover, 29.7% of children are overweight when both parents are overweight compared to 14.97% when both parents are a healthy weight (p < 0.05). This means that children are twice as likely to be overweight when both parents are overweight compared to children whose parents are a healthy weight.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa owns a variability of virulence factors. These factors can increase bacterial pathogenicity and infection severity. Despite the importance of knowledge about them, these factors are not more characterized at level of strains derived from local food products. This study aimed to characterize the virulence potential of P. aeruginosa isolated from various animal products. Several structural and virulence genes of P. aeruginosa including lasB, exoS, algD, plcH, pilB, exoU, and nan1 were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on 204 strains of P. aeruginosa. They were isolated from bovine meat (122), fresh fish (49), and smoked fish (33). The 16S rRNA gene was detected on 91.1% of the presumptive strains as Pseudomonas. The rpoB gene showed that 99.5% of the strains were P. aeruginosa. The lasB gene (89.2%) was the most frequently detected (p < 0.05). In decreasing importance order, exoS (86.8%), algD (72.1%), plcH (72.1%), pilB (40.2%), and exoU (2.5%) were detected. The lasB gene was detected in all strains of P. aeruginosa serogroups O11 and O16. The prevalence of algD, exoS, and exoU genes in these strains varied from 51.2% to 87.4%. The simultaneous determination of serogroups and virulence factors is of interest for the efficacy of surveillance of infections associated with P. aeruginosa.

The extraction and solubilization of proteins from seeds of Phaseolus vulgarisms for two-dimension polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and analysis by mass spectrometry are very sensitive procedures. In this study, we used two methods of extraction and solubilization of proteins, the urea/thiourea method and the trichloroacetic acid (TCA)/acetone precipitation method, in order to determine their effectiveness in separating proteins from bean seeds by 2D-PAGE. In both methods, proteins were well separated by 2D PAGE with minor variations in the protein pattern. These two extraction methods showed that it was possible to separate hundreds of very resolvent proteins by 2D electrophoresis. A protein spot was selected on the 2D-PAGE gel, digested with trypsin and analyzed by mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The results suggest that thiourea/urea and TCA methods were effective and reliable for the extraction and solubilization for 2D analysis of proteins from seeds of Phaseolus vulgaris.

Six local varieties of olives were selected to study their oils and fatty acid composition, with the aim to determine one or several discriminating markers of the botanical origin. The relative percentages of fatty acids were well balanced, conferring to these oils high nutritional quality, characterized by important oleic acid content. The results showed the strongest effect of variety comparing to crop year and region which were less significant. We noticed that 80% of the fatty acids present clear differences between the various varieties population. Samples which present the highest level of oleic acid and mono-unsaturated fatty acids were Grosse du Hamma of first year with respective percentages of 79 and 85% and Azeradj for the same year with 77 and 78% respectively. Whereas, unsaponifiable minor components were present in very small quantities (ppm), but are sufficient to characterize and draw Nutritional and organoleptic olive oil profile. This is perfectly confirmed with principal component analysis results. Azeradj variety, in the four areas presented the highest rates of total tocopherol with averages between 251 and 271 ppm, tocophérol profile shows prevalence of alpha tocopherol (95% of total fraction).

The study was designed to investigate the cessation factors associated with the exclusive breastfeeding in the Miramichi region. It was a descriptive cross-sectional and analytical study, which took place from 2011 to 2014. A total of 294 mothers and their 294 children aged from 0 to 42 months constituted the study population.The data collection concerning the breastfeeding in infant was done by questionnaire addressed to the parents. A multivariate statistical analysis was realized to identify the determinants of the exclusive breastfeeding cessation. The adjusted Odds Ratio (ORa) and their interval were calculated. The average age of mothers and the duration of breastfeeding were respectively 26.86 ± 6.44 years and 19.22 ± 3.28 months. In multivariate analysis, the early cessation of exclusive breastfeeding is associated with the maternal age (adjusted odds ratio (ORa) = 1.2), the level of education of the mother (ORa) = 1.6), the mode of feeding (ORa) = 1.9), and the duration of breastfeeding (ORa) = 2.2); which are predictors of childhood obesity in Miramichi. We have identified modifiable factors in order to improve the practice of exclusive breastfeeding in Miramichi Factors associated with cessation of exclusive breastfeeding before six months among mothers in the Miramichi region (Canada)

The precise location of a substrate in cytochrome P450 (CYP) governs the orientation of the oxidation position. Such information is generally obtained from biochemical data, but modeling approaches have also been used to explain these locations. We used X-ray data and modeling techniques to distinguish between the series of putative linear or curved channels which lead the substrate from the outer side of the protein to the inner, and then into the heme pocket; these techniques were also used to identify the largest such channels. Two new methods for precisely determining the 3-D structure of proteins using X-ray crystallography were proposed in order to identify these channels: first, the use of both straight and curved channels, and second, the sphere method. These data are compared with Poulos channels, and with Caver (or Mol on line) modeling methodologies. Our methods were developed from studies of the interaction between cytochrome P450CAM(CYP101) fromPseudomonas putida(as exp...

The aim of the study was isolation and characterization of species of Shigella genus in the cases of diarrhea in Abidjan. Shigella species were isolated from 1566 stool samples and characterized by serotyping, antibiotyping, determination of virulence genes and plasmid profile. A total of 41 (2.6%) strains of Shigella were isolated. S. flexneri was the most frequent serogroup (52.8 %), followed by S. boydii (22.2%), S. sonnei (19.4%) and S. dysenteriae serotype 1 (5.6%). The ipaH gene was detected in 37 (90.2%) strains and the ial gene in 19 (46.3%). The strains show a high resistance to Ampicillin and Tetracyclin (90%), to Sulphamide (85%) and to a lesser extent to Cotrimoxazole (65%). The analysis of the plasmid profile revealed 75% of the strains harbour plasmids whose size vary from 0.5 (0.8 kb) to 10.4 MDa (16.2 kb). The plasmids of size 1.7 MDa, 2.4 MDa and 3.6 Mda are frequent and are found in several species, whereas the plasmids of more than 10 MDa are rare. The analysis of the plasmid profile and the detection of the virulence factors can serve as tools in the characterization of strains and the control of infections associated with Shigella.

The ability of nine lactic acid bacteria (Lactococcus, Lactobacillus and Pediococcus) with potential in cheese maturation to lysis under various physicochemical conditions was studied. The lysis efficiency under various pH and NaCl concentrations was evaluated by measuring aminopeptidase and dipeptidylaminopeptidase activity released in cell supernatant. Two Lb. casei (L2A, 137) exhibited high peptidase activities and were more sensitive to lysis. Our results indicate clearly that autolysis is optimal with Lactobacillus casei casei (L2A) and Lactobacillus casei pseudoplantarum (137) at pH5.2 with 24% NaCl concentration and at 30°C.

The virulence, serotype and phylogenetic traits of diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli were detected in 502 strains isolated during digestive infections. Molecular detection of the target virulence genes, rfb gene of operon O and phylogenetic grouping genes Chua, yjaA and TSPE4.C2 was performed. Prevalence of strains harbouring virulent genes was 7.8%. The virulent genes eaeA, bfp, stx2, st1, lt, aggA, east1, ipaH, ial, cnf1 and afa were detected. EAEC (36%) and both EPEC and ATEC (25.6%) are the most detected pathovars (p<0.05). STEC (5.1%), NFEC (7.7) and DAEC (7.7) are less represented. Serogroups are overall diversified (89%), however, serogroups O157, O103 and O86, previously known to be associated with virulence were revealed. Most of the E. coli pathovars (53%) belonged to phylogenetic group A and in decreasing importance order, to D (23.5%), B1 (11.7%) and B2 (11.7%) groups. The study shows a diversified population of intestinal strains (84.6%), with a low phenotypic and phylogenetic link lower (p<0.05). Due to the great diversity of pathotypes, continuous monitoring should be implemented to identify risk factors and major pathways of contamination that help defining strategies to reduce infections associated with E. coli.

In this paper, we report on the isolation and structural identification of triolmonocinnamate extracted from Verbesina persicifolia, a popular medicinal plant in the central highlands of México (Hueytamalco, Puebla). The Asteraceae family is a rich source of sesquiterpenes, some of which have a eudesmane 1 skeleton and bear several functional groups such as hydroxyls or their esters (Scheme I). Extracts of Verbesina plants are often used in traditional medicine – for example, to treat stomach ulcers. A recent surge of interest in this family of terpenes is justified by their biological activity. These sesquiterpenes have been the subject of many recent physiological evaluations and synthetic studies that have resulted in many corrections of structures and stereochemical assignments proposed earlier. The extraction of leaves of Verbesina persicifolia (harvested in 2010 in Hueytamalco, Puebla) led us to the identification of one major eudesmane-type sesquiterpene, the 4,10-dimethyl-7-...

The present study was led to assess the age of the food diversification, and to identify the sociodemographics factors related to the age of the early food diversification in the Miramichi region. A crosssectional study was performed. A total of 294 children aged from 0 to 42 months were included in the study. The data collection concerning the food and the beginning of the food diversification was done by questionnaire addressed to the parents. A bivariate and a multivariate statistical analysis was realized to identify the determinants of the early age diversification. The adjusted Odds Ratio (ORa) and their interval were calculated. The age of the onset of food diversification is of 13, 1 months. In multivariate analysis, the age of the onset of the food diversification is related to the maternal age (adjusted odds ratio (ORa) = 1.2), to the mother and father’s education level (ORa = 1.6), to the mode of feeding (ORa = 1.9), and to the duration of breastfeeding (ORa = 2.2), which...