Food is consumed in order to maintain energy balance at homeostatic levels. In addition, palatable food is also consumed for its hedonic properties independent of energy status. Such reward-related ...consumption can result in caloric intake exceeding requirements and is considered a major culprit in the rapidly increasing rates of obesity in developed countries. Compared with homeostatic mechanisms of feeding, much less is known about how hedonic systems in brain influence food intake. Intriguingly, excessive consumption of palatable food can trigger neuroadaptive responses in brain reward circuitries similar to drugs of abuse. Furthermore, similar genetic vulnerabilities in brain reward systems can increase predisposition to drug addiction and obesity. Here, recent advances in our understanding of the brain circuitries that regulate hedonic aspects of feeding behavior will be reviewed. Also, emerging evidence suggesting that obesity and drug addiction may share common hedonic mechanisms will also be considered.
► This work provides an up-to date review on methods for extraction of NCC. ► A special focus is devoted to the use of lignocellulosic biomass as starting material. ► Opportunities of NCC-based ...materials for the future are presented and discussed. ► Challenges and obstacles remaining for a wider use of NCC are discussed.
The use of renewables materials for industrial applications is becoming impellent due to the increasing demand of alternatives to scarce and unrenewable petroleum supplies. In this regard, nanocrystalline cellulose, NCC, derived from cellulose, the most abundant biopolymer, is one of the most promising materials. NCC has unique features, interesting for the development of new materials: the abundance of the source cellulose, its renewability and environmentally benign nature, its mechanical properties and its nano-scaled dimensions open a wide range of possible properties to be discovered. One of the most promising uses of NCC is in polymer matrix nanocomposites, because it can provide a significant reinforcement. This review provides an overview on this emerging nanomaterial, focusing on extraction procedures, especially from lignocellulosic biomass, and on technological developments and applications of NCC-based materials. Challenges and future opportunities of NCC-based materials will be are discussed as well as obstacles remaining for their large use.
We found that development of obesity was coupled with emergence of a progressively worsening deficit in neural reward responses. Similar changes in reward homeostasis induced by cocaine or heroin are ...considered to be crucial in triggering the transition from casual to compulsive drug-taking. Accordingly, we detected compulsive-like feeding behavior in obese but not lean rats, measured as palatable food consumption that was resistant to disruption by an aversive conditioned stimulus. Striatal dopamine D2 receptors (D2Rs) were downregulated in obese rats, as has been reported in humans addicted to drugs. Moreover, lentivirus-mediated knockdown of striatal D2Rs rapidly accelerated the development of addiction-like reward deficits and the onset of compulsive-like food seeking in rats with extended access to palatable high-fat food. These data demonstrate that overconsumption of palatable food triggers addiction-like neuroadaptive responses in brain reward circuits and drives the development of compulsive eating. Common hedonic mechanisms may therefore underlie obesity and drug addiction.
The hedonic properties of food can stimulate feeding behaviour even when energy requirements have been met, contributing to weight gain and obesity. Similarly, the hedonic effects of drugs of abuse ...can motivate their excessive intake, culminating in addiction. Common brain substrates regulate the hedonic properties of palatable food and addictive drugs, and recent reports suggest that excessive consumption of food or drugs of abuse induces similar neuroadaptive responses in brain reward circuitries. Here, we review evidence suggesting that obesity and drug addiction may share common molecular, cellular and systems-level mechanisms.
Nanocomposites have emerged in the last two decades as an efficient strategy to upgrade the structural and functional properties of synthetic polymers. Aliphatic polyesters as polylactide (PLA), ...poly(glycolides) (PGA), poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) have attracted wide attention for their biodegradability and biocompatibility in the human body. A logic consequence has been the introduction of organic and inorganic nanofillers into biodegradable polymers to produce nanocomposites based on hydroxyapatite, metal nanoparticles or carbon nanotructures, in order to prepare new biomaterials with enhanced properties. Consequently, the improvement of interfacial adhesion between the polymer and the nanostructures has become the key technique in the nanocomposite process. In this review, different results on the fabrication of nanocomposites based on biodegradable polymers for specific field of tissue engineering are presented. The combination of bioresorbable polymers and nanostructures open new perspectives in the self-assembly of nanomaterials for biomedical applications with tuneable mechanical, thermal and electrical properties.
► PLA nanocomposites reinforced with cellulose were developed for packaging applications. ► The effect of cellulose modification and percentage in PLA nanocomposites was investigated. ► ...Surfactant-modified nanocrystals favour the cellulose dispersion in the PLA. ► Reductions of water permeability and good oxygen barrier properties were obtained. ► The overall migration level of PLA nanocomposites was below the normative limits.
The aim of this paper is to report the impact of the addition of cellulose nanocrystals on the barrier properties and on the migration behaviour of poly(lactic acid), PLA, based nano-biocomposites prepared by the solvent casting method. Their microstructure, crystallinity, barrier and overall migration properties were investigated. Pristine (CNC) and surfactant-modified cellulose nanocrystals (s-CNC) were used, and the effect of the cellulose modification and content in the nano-biocomposites was investigated.
The presence of surfactant on the nanocrystal surface favours the dispersion of CNC in the PLA matrix. Electron microscopy analysis shows the good dispersion of s-CNC in the nanoscale with well-defined single crystals indicating that the surfactant allowed a better interaction between the cellulose structures and the PLA matrix. Reductions of 34% in water permeability were obtained for the cast films containing 1wt.% of s-CNC while good oxygen barrier properties were detected for nano-biocomposites with both 1wt.% and 5wt.% of modified and un-modified cellulose nanocrystals, underlining the improvement provided by cellulose on the PLA films. Moreover, the migration level of the studied nano-biocomposites was below the overall migration limits required by the current normative for food packaging materials in both non-polar and polar simulants.
•Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) were successfully synthesized and modified.•Synthesized cellulose nanocrystals were successfully incorporated in a PLA-PHB blend.•The processing and CNC ...functionalization favored their dispersion in the blend.•Modified CNC enhanced the interfacial adhesion and the thermal stability of PLA-PHB.•Modified CNC enhance the PLA-PHB blend crystallinity.
Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) synthesized from microcrystalline cellulose by acid hydrolysis were added into poly(lactic acid)–poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PLA–PHB) blends to improve the final properties of the multifunctional systems. CNC were also modified with a surfactant (CNCs) to increase the interfacial adhesion in the systems maintaining the thermal stability. Firstly, masterbatch pellets were obtained for each formulation to improve the dispersion of the cellulose structures in the PLA–PHB and then nanocomposite films were processed. The thermal stability as well as the morphological and structural properties of nanocomposites was investigated. While PHB increased the PLA crystallinity due to its nucleation effect, well dispersed CNC and CNCs not only increased the crystallinity but also improved the processability, the thermal stability and the interaction between both polymers especially in the case of the modified CNCs based PLA–PHB formulation. Likewise, CNCs were better dispersed in PLA-CNCs and PLA–PHB–CNCs, than CNC.
Fungal disease is an increasingly recognised global clinical challenge associated with high mortality. Early diagnosis of fungal infection remains problematic due to the poor sensitivity and ...specificity of current diagnostic modalities. Advances in sequencing technologies hold promise in addressing these shortcomings and for improved fungal detection and identification. To translate such emerging approaches into mainstream clinical care will require refinement of current sequencing and analytical platforms, ensuring standardisation and consistency through robust clinical benchmarking and its validation across a range of patient populations. In this state-of-the-art review, we discuss current diagnostic and therapeutic challenges associated with fungal disease and provide key examples where the application of sequencing technologies has potential diagnostic application in assessing the human ‘mycobiome’. We assess how ready access to fungal sequencing may be exploited in broadening our insight into host–fungal interaction, providing scope for clinical diagnostics and the translation of emerging mycobiome research into clinical practice.
By developing a wide-field scheme for spectral measurement and implementing photoswitching, we synchronously obtained the fluorescence spectra and positions of ∼10(6) single molecules in labeled ...cells in minutes, which consequently enabled spectrally resolved, 'true-color' super-resolution microscopy. The method, called spectrally resolved stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (SR-STORM), achieved cross-talk-free three-dimensional (3D) imaging for four dyes 10 nm apart in emission spectrum. Excellent resolution was obtained for every channel, and 3D localizations of all molecules were automatically aligned within one imaging path.
Microglia, the brain's resident macrophages, help to regulate brain function by removing dying neurons, pruning non-functional synapses, and producing ligands that support neuronal survival
. Here we ...show that microglia are also critical modulators of neuronal activity and associated behavioural responses in mice. Microglia respond to neuronal activation by suppressing neuronal activity, and ablation of microglia amplifies and synchronizes the activity of neurons, leading to seizures. Suppression of neuronal activation by microglia occurs in a highly region-specific fashion and depends on the ability of microglia to sense and catabolize extracellular ATP, which is released upon neuronal activation by neurons and astrocytes. ATP triggers the recruitment of microglial protrusions and is converted by the microglial ATP/ADP hydrolysing ectoenzyme CD39 into AMP; AMP is then converted into adenosine by CD73, which is expressed on microglia as well as other brain cells. Microglial sensing of ATP, the ensuing microglia-dependent production of adenosine, and the adenosine-mediated suppression of neuronal responses via the adenosine receptor A
R are essential for the regulation of neuronal activity and animal behaviour. Our findings suggest that this microglia-driven negative feedback mechanism operates similarly to inhibitory neurons and is essential for protecting the brain from excessive activation in health and disease.
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