Tunisia Private University

Ben Hassine N., Haouari W.

Les travailleurs en situation de handicap (TSH) peuvent présenter une fragilité sociale, relationnelle et psychique susceptible de les placer en situation de risque en matière de consommation de substances psychoactives licites et illicites avec des conséquences sur leur santé. L'objectif est d'évaluer la prévalence des conduites addictives (tabac, alcool, cannabis) chez une population de TSH d'un établissement d'aide par le travail (ESAT) et repérer les facteurs pouvant les influencer. L'enquête s'est déroulée sur une période de 2 mois allant du premier février au 31 mars 2023, il s'agit d'une étude descriptive transversale menée dans un ESAT de 164 TSH. Le recueil des données a consisté en la passation d'un questionnaire transcrit en FLAC par trois professionnels de la santé permettant d'évaluer les caractéristiques socioprofessionnelles, l'état de santé générale perçu, la prise de médicaments psychotropes, les conduites addictives (tabac, alcool, cannabis), l'évaluation de la dépendance par le score de Fagestrom, le questionnaire FACE et CAST. Des facteurs associés à l'addiction ont été également recherchés. Nous avons interrogé 146 TSH, 4 ont été écartés. Parmi les travailleurs interrogés, 17,1 % rapportaient une consommation régulière de tabac, 50 % d'eux n'ont pas de dépendance, 38,5 % avaient une dépendance moyenne et 11,5 % une forte dépendance. Une consommation régulière d'alcool a été retrouvé chez 23,4 % de nos TSH avec un score de dépendance FACE inférieur à 4 pour la grande majorité d'entre eux (85,3 %). Un seul travailleur a déclaré procéder à une consommation régulière de cannabis avec un score de dépendance CAST à 5. L'étude a mis en évidence une association significative entre le tabac et le genre, les hommes fument plus que les femmes (p = 0,007), l'alcool et le genre, les hommes boivent plus que les femmes (p = 0,019), nous avons objectivé un lien significatif entre la consommation d'alcool et les antécédents pathologiques, les salariés sans antécédents semblaient boire plus que les autres (p = 0,012) et un lien entre la notion de travail antérieur en milieu ordinaire et la consommation de tabac (p = 0,016). Les résultats de cette étude montrent une prévalence et une répartition d'alcooliques chez notre population d'étude similaire de celle de la population générale en France, par ailleurs notre population était moins touchée par le tabagisme et la consommation de cannabis. Le repérage et la sensibilisation aux risques chez ce public sont fortement recommandés par tout le personnel du médicosocial mais aussi les acteurs de la santé au travail.

Atyaoui M., Wiem B., Ines E., Lassaad C., Ezzaouia H.

A series of Vanadium-Doped tin oxide (SnO2) thin films developed on Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were synthetized by sol-gel spin coating method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) absorption and carrier lifetime measurements. Several operational parameters involving, vanadium doping amount and the optical properties of the silicon nanowires on photo-catalytic efficiency were investigated by using Rhodamine B (RhB) as an Organic Dye for the degradation under the illumination of Ultraviolet. Under optimum conditions, SnO2 doped with 15% of vanadium and deposited on silicon nanowires achieved 89.56% Rhodamine B degradation after 120 min of Ultraviolet illumination.

Larbi S., Aylanc V., Rodríguez-Flores M.S., Calhelha R.C., Barros L., Rezouga F., Seijo M.C., Falcão S.I., Vilas-Boas M.

Nowadays, bee products are commended by consumers for their medicinal and dietary properties. This study aimed to differentiate between monofloral bee pollens originating from Portugal using phenolic and volatile profiles and investigate their antioxidant and cytotoxic activity. Total phenolic and flavonoid compounds were recorded between 2.9–35.8 mg GAE/g and 0.7–4.8 mg QE/g, respectively. The LC/DAD/ESI-MSn analytical results allowed us to identify and quantify a total of 72 compounds, including phenolic and phenylamide compounds, whereas GC-MS results revealed the presence of 49 different compounds, mostly ketones, aldehydes, esters, hydrocarbons, and terpenes. The highest DPPH• radical scavenging activity, EC50: 0.07 mg/mL, was recorded in the sample dominated by Castanae sp. pollen, whereas the Rubus sp. (1.59 mM Trolox/mg) and Cistaceae sp. (0.09 mg GAE/g) pollen species exhibited the highest antioxidant activity in ABTS•+ and reducing power assays, respectively. Regarding the anti-carcinogenic activity, only Carduus sp. showed remarkable cytotoxic potential against MCF-7.

Brandão A.S., Caleja C., Dias M.I., ben Salha A., Rezouga F., Rodrigues P., Ferreira I.C., Barros L., Santos J.M.

Dridi A., Reis F.S., Pires T.C., Calhelha R.C., Pereira C., Zaghdoudi K., Ferreira I.C., Barros L., Barreira J.C.

Aesculus hippocastanum L., also known as horse chestnut, is an ornamental tree whose seeds are mostly discarded in landfills in the regions where they are grown. However, recent studies have shown that these seeds can be a source of interesting compounds for several industries. This work aimed to chemically characterize horse chestnut seeds at the level of compounds recognized for their wide bioactivity, i.e., organic acids, including phenolic compounds, using chromatographic methodologies (UFLC-DAD and LC-DAD-ESI/MSn). In addition, the bioactivity of these seeds was evaluated by in vitro methodologies, seeking to relate the respective (bio)activity to the compounds present in the endocarp (husk), seed coat (skin), and peeled seed (pulp). The antioxidant activity (lipid peroxidation inhibition and oxidative haemolysis inhibition), antibacterial potential (against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria) and cytotoxicity (in human tumour cell lines and porcine liver primary cells) were evaluated. Kaempferol-O-pentoside-O-hexoside-O-hexoside was the main phenolic identified in the pulp. At the same time, (-)-epicatechin and β-type (epi)catechin dimer were the major phenolics present in husk and skin, respectively. In general, A. hippocastanum extracts presented antioxidant and antibacterial potential, without toxicity up to the maximal tested dose. Overall, these findings anticipate potential applications of A. hippocastanum seeds in food- or pharmaceutical-related uses.

Aylanc V., Larbi S., Calhelha R., Barros L., Rezouga F., Rodríguez-Flores M.S., Seijo M.C., El Ghouizi A., Lyoussi B., Falcão S.I., Vilas-Boas M.

Bee pollen is frequently characterized as a natural source of bioactive components, such as phenolic compounds, which are responsible for its pharmaceutical potential and nutritional properties. In this study, we evaluated the bioactive compound contents of mono- and polyfloral bee pollen samples using spectroscopic and chromatographic methods and established links with their antioxidant and antitumor activity. The findings demonstrated that the botanical origin of bee pollen has a remarkable impact on its phenolic (3–17 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid (0.5–3.2 mg QE/g) contents. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis revealed the presence of 35 phenolic and 13 phenylamide compounds in bee pollen, while gas chromatography–mass spectrometry showed its richness in volatiles, such as hydrocarbons, fatty acids, alcohols, ketones, etc. The concentration of bioactive compounds in each sample resulted in a substantial distinction in their antioxidant activity, DPPH (EC50: 0.3–0.7 mg/mL), ABTS (0.8–1.3 mM Trolox/mg), and reducing power (0.03–0.05 mg GAE/g), with the most bioactive pollens being the monofloral samples from Olea europaea and Ononis spinosa. Complementarily, some samples revealed a moderate effect on cervical carcinoma (GI50: 495 μg/mL) and breast adenocarcinoma (GI50: 734 μg/mL) cell lines. This may be associated with compounds such as quercetin-O-diglucoside and kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside, which are present in pollens from Olea europaea and Coriandrum, respectively. Overall, the results highlighted the potentiality of bee pollen to serve health-promoting formulations in the future.

Rodrigues P., Jelassi A., Kanoun E., Sulyok M., Correia P., Ramalhosa E., Pereira E.L.

Dias T., Santos V.S., Zorgani T., Ferreiro N., Rodrigues A.I., Zaghdoudi K., Veloso A.C., Peres A.M.

The detection and level assessment of microorganisms is a practical quality/contamination indicator of food and water samples. Conventional analytical procedures (e.g., culture methods, immunological techniques, and polymerase chain reactions), while accurate and widely used, are time-consuming, costly, and generate a large amount of waste. Electronic noses (E-noses), combined with chemometrics, provide a direct, green, and non-invasive assessment of the volatile fraction without the need for sample pre-treatments. The unique olfactory fingerprint generated during each microorganism’s growth can be a vehicle for its detection using gas sensors. A lab-made E-nose, comprising metal oxide semiconductor sensors was applied, to analyze solid medium containing Gram-positive (Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus) or Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria. The electrical-resistance signals generated by the E-nose coupled with linear discriminant analysis allowed the discrimination of the four bacteria (90% of correct classifications for leave-one-out cross-validation). Furthermore, multiple linear regression models were also established allowing quantifying the number of colony-forming units (CFU) (0.9428 ≤ R2 ≤ 0.9946), with maximum root mean square errors lower than 4 CFU. Overall, the E-nose showed to be a powerful qualitative–quantitative device for bacteria preliminary analysis, being envisaged its possible application in solid food matrices.

Ben Rejeb I., Charfi I., Baraketi S., Hached H., Gargouri M.

Food waste has been widely valorized in the past years in order to develop eco-friendly materials. Among others, bread waste is currently of increasing interest, as it is considered a huge global issue with serious environmental impacts and significant economic losses that have become even greater in the post-pandemic years due to an increase in cereal prices, which has led to higher production costs and bread prices. Owing to its richness in polysaccharides, bread waste has been previously studied for its physico-chemical characteristics and its numerous biotechnological applications. The present review highlights the re-use of bread waste and its valorization as a valuable resource by making value-added products through numerous technological processes to increase efficiency at all stages. Many research studies reporting several transformation methods of surplus bread into ethanol, lactic acid, succinic acid, biohydrogen, hydroxymethylfurfural, proteins and pigments, glucose–fructose syrup, aroma compounds, and enzymes are widely discussed. The wide variety of suggested applications for recycling bread waste provides significant insights into the role of technology development in potentially maximizing resource recovery and consequently contributing to environmental performance by reducing the amount of bread waste in landfills.

Chargui H., Ghazghazi H., Essghaier B., Fradj M.K., Feki M., Charfi I., Salem R.B., Rigane G., Bejaoui Z.

Leucaena leucocephala (Lam de wit) is a valuable source of bioactive metabolites with high preventive and therapeutic effectiveness. Here, and taking into account the effect of geographical location and maturation stage, we aimed to investigate the chemical composition of phenolic, fatty acid profiles (GC-FID) and biological activities from L. leucocephala (Lam de wit) seed oil and leave extracts. The results indicated that L. leucocephala (Lam de wit) ethanolic leaves extracts growing in Ariana have the highest levels in phenolic and flavonoid contents and showed remarkable antioxidant activities. Furthermore, L. leucocephala (Lam de wit) oils extracted from seeds growing in two locations at different maturation stage were analyzed using GC-FID to determine fatty acids profiles and significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed between growing area and maturation stage. In addition, both oils and ethanolic extract of L. leucocephala (Lam de wit) were able to limit gram positive and gram negative bacteria, Candida species as well as the tested filamentous fungi species, and the examination of results prove that the diameter of zone inhibition was related to the tested microorganisms. The results credibly indicate that L. leucocephala (Lam de wit) leaves and seeds are nutrient-rich and can contribute effectively to the daily nutrient requirements alongside its therapeutic properties.

Rodrigues P., Driss J.O., Gomes-Laranjo J., Sampaio A.

Sweet chestnut fruits are popular fruits commercialized as fresh or processed ready-to-eat products. The major post-harvest problems associated with stored chestnut fruits are fungal rots, which cause major losses in fruit quality. The aims of this work were to determine the incidence, abundance and diversity of rots and fungi in three chestnut varieties (Longal, Judia and Martaínha) of Portugal, collected from an industrial plant, and to identify the stages of storage and processing where fungi and rots are more significant. Thirty-three chestnut samples from the three varieties were collected from different stages of industrial processing. Nuts were internally and externally inspected for damage, infestation and infection, and internal fungi were isolated and molecularly identified. The variety Martaínha was identified as the least susceptible to fungal growth, while Longal was the most susceptible. A high diversity of fungi was detected and identified. The dominant fungi were Mucor racemosus, Penicillium spp. (the causal agents of green rots), Ciboria batschiana (black rot) and Botrytis cinerea (gray rot). Gnomoniopsis smithogilvyi, the causal agent of brown rot, was also frequently detected. Sterilization with hydrothermal bath was effective in the elimination or reduction of most of the rot-causing fungi. These results could serve as a baseline for better monitoring fungal development and chestnut decay, and to develop effective management measures to control post-harvest chestnut rots.

Fernandes L., Graeff F., Jelassi A., Sulyok M., Garcia C., Rodrigues N., Pereira J.A., Bento A., Kanoun A., Rodrigues P., Pereira E.L., Ramalhosa E.

Malek A., Choura L., Romaric Z.Z., Wala M., Hatem E.

Graphical abstract of electron transfer and degradation mecahanism. • Azo dye Black Amido (BA) should not be discharged into effluents and natural sources without prior treatments for a partial or total elimination. • To attain this aim, the optimized ZTO thin film are suggested to be used as a photo-catalyst for the BA degradation. • The result shown that ZTO film could be used as a stable photo-catalyst for the photo-catalytic application. The degradation of an azo dye Amido Black 10B in aqueous solution by photo-catalytic reaction with an optimized ZnO-SnO 2 (ZTO) thin film has been investigated. Optimization of structural, electrical and photoluminescence properties of ZTO films was carried out by varying the molar ratio (ZnO:SnO 2 ) from (1:1) to (4:1) during the chemical sol–gel deposition. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Hall Effect measurements, UV–Visible analyzes, and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). SEM analyzes confirm the synthesis of ZTO layers and indicate that the morphology of the obtained ZTO layers change by increasing the molar ratio. XRD shows a slight increase in the crystalline nature of ZnO and a small decline in that of SnO 2 by increasing the concentration of ZnO. The results of Hall effect measurements, photoluminescence spectroscopy and UV–Vis analyzes suggest that the optimized addition of the ZnO improve light absorption especially in the short wavelength range and participate in radiative recombination under photo-excitation. Evolution of the photo-catalytic activity revealed that the optimized ZTO thin film exhibited an improved photo-catalytic performance in the degradation of Amido Black 10B under UV irradiation. Around 70.46% of the degradation of this azo dye was achieved within 240 min. These results suggest that prepared ZTO with molar ratio of (2:1) is promising candidate for photo-catalytic application.

Gallart-Mateu D., Dhaouadi Z., de la Guardia M.

• Evaluation of the impact of HnB tobacco smoking on the quality of air in closed areas. • Second-hand exposure to HnB smoke of bystanders. • Fast alternative to monitor HnB use on the active and bystanders expiratory plume. • Concentration and remaining quantities of nicotine in non-smoked and smoked HnB sticks. The increasing interest to avoid the consumption of regular tobacco has lead in the development of several types of devices to decrease the effects of this practice on active and bystanders. In this work, the impact of the use of new heat-not-burn (HnB) devices has been evaluated and compared with that of regular cigarettes and electronic cigarettes (e-cigs). Portable monitoring devices were employed for CO, CO 2 , particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to evaluate the quality of indoor air and expiratory plume of both, active and passive, users during these practices. It can be noticed that the levels of VOCs in active HnB smokers expiratory air are five times lower in particular cases than those provided by regular tobacco and three times lower than those obtained for e-cigs, while the contribution of particulate matter to air pollution decreases between 200 and 600 times regarding the values obtained for e-cig vaping and regular tobacco smoking. The level of contaminants as CO decreases significantly in both, active and passive HnB smokers, in comparison with active and passive regular tobacco smokers, due to the absence of organic material combustion. Regarding passive HnB smokers, the exposure to HnB smoke do not increases the level of VOCs in ambient air nor in expiratory plume, remaining at the basal levels, being three times lower than values obtained to an exposure to regular tobacco smoke and two times lower than exposure to e-cigs vapours. On the other hand, the use of HnB devices decreases the concentration of PM in bystanders around thirty five times in relation with values obtained for passive regular tobacco smokers. Concerning the nicotine content delivered by HnB tobacco, data shown that HnB tobacco provides values from 0.5 to 1.7 mg of nicotine to the mainstream, being these values similar to those found in conventional tobacco.

Perincherry L., Ajmi C., Oueslati S., Waśkiewicz A., Stępień Ł.

Being pathogenic fungi, Fusarium produce various extracellular cell wall-degrading enzymes (CWDEs) that degrade the polysaccharides in the plant cell wall. They also produce mycotoxins that contaminate grains, thereby posing a serious threat to animals and human beings. Exposure to mycotoxins occurs through ingestion of contaminated grains, inhalation and through skin absorption, thereby causing mycotoxicoses. The toxins weaken the host plant, allowing the pathogen to invade successfully, with the efficiency varying from strain to strain and depending on the plant infected. Fusariumoxysporum predominantly produces moniliformin and cyclodepsipeptides, whereas F. proliferatum produces fumonisins. The aim of the study was to understand the role of various substrates and pea plant extracts in inducing the production of CWDEs and mycotoxins. Additionally, to monitor the differences in their levels when susceptible and resistant pea plant extracts were supplemented. The cultures of F. proliferatum and F. oxysporum strains were supplemented with various potential inducers of CWDEs. During the initial days after the addition of substrates, the fungus cocultivated with pea extracts and other carbon substrates showed increased activities of β-glucosidase, xylanase, exo-1,4-glucanase and lipase. The highest inhibition of mycelium growth (57%) was found in the cultures of F. proliferatum strain PEA1 upon the addition of cv. Sokolik extract. The lowest fumonisin content was exhibited by the cultures with the pea extracts and oat bran added, and this can be related to the secondary metabolites and antioxidants present in these substrates.