Ultrasonic assisted cross-flow ultrafiltration of starch and cellulose nanocrystals suspensions: characterization at multi-scales.

This study investigates for the first time the behaviors of starch and cellulose nanocrystals (SNC and CNC) suspensions which are simultaneously subjected to pressure, shear flow and ultrasound (US) during cross-flow ultrafiltration. This multi-forces process was characterized from macro-scales to nano-scales, with a custom designed "SAXS Cross-Flow US-coupled Filtration Cell". In addition, rheological behaviors of SNC samples at different concentrations/temperatures have been investigated. In both cases (ultrafiltration of SNC and CNC suspensions), better performances were observed with US. The in-situ SAXS measurements revealed that for SNC suspensions, no structure change occurred at the length scales range from 10 to 60nm in this multi-forces process, while CNC particles exhibited an ordered arrangement within the concentrated layer during the same process. SNC particles accumulated on the membrane surface forming a "fragile" concentrated layer which was removed very quickly by subsequent applied US. In contrary, the CNC particles accumulation was very severe, the additional ultrasonic force led to a disruption but not a totally removal of the CNC concentrated layer.

Application of the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium in biotreatment of bagasse effluent.

Biotreatment of bagasse effluent using Phanerochaete chrysosporium (white rot fungus) is investigated. This study confirmed that lignin is the major pollutant component in this effluent followed by different carbohydrates. The treatment conditions must be very proper, especially in terms of biomass culture to achieve a successful treatment. The best conditions of temperature, biomass concentration, pH and duration for biotreatment of this effluent were 35°C, 552 mg l(-1), 6 and 5 to 9 days, respectively. Under these conditions, a 9 days long treatment reduced by 98.7% the original biochemical oxygen demand (of 2,780 mg l(-1)) and by 98.5% the dissolved chemical oxygen demand (initial 4,200 mg l(-1)). Moreover, fungal treatment reduced total dissolved solids from 3,950 to 575 mg l(-1) and color from 560 mg l(-1) PtCo to 111 mg l(-1) PtCo.

European registry of infants born to mothers with antiphospholipid syndrome: preliminary results.

The registry is an European, multicentre, prospective and longitudinal study which follows a cohort of children born to mothers with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). In this article we report preliminary results obtained from 138 mothers and 141 babies (three twin pregnancies). At birth, 16.3% of neonates were less than 37 weeks of gestation and 17% were low birth weight; in addition, 11.3% of neonates were small for gestational age. No cases of neonatal thrombosis were observed. During follow-up period five children showed behavioral abnormalities. A long term clinical follow-up will be necessary to evaluate the neuropsychological development of these children.

European registry of babies born to mothers with antiphospholipid syndrome: a result update.

The registry is a prospective, European, multicentric, longitudinal study, which follows a cohort of children born to mothers with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). It was started in 2003. In this report, we update the results obtained from the study of 110 mothers and 112 children (two twin births). Eighty per cent of the mothers (n = 86) had primary APS. Purely obstetrical, thrombotic and mixed (obstetrical and thrombotic) APS represent 65.5 %, 21.8 % and 12.7 % of the whole cohort respectively. Isolated antiphospholipid antibodies and isolated anticardiolipin antibodies positivity were present in 50 of 109 (46%) and in 34 of 109 (31%) of the pregnant women, respectively. In the babies, in spite of a high rate of prematurity (14.3%) with four (3.6%) of the premature babies born before 33 weeks of gestation and an increased number of newborns small for gestational age (17%), the large majority of the neonates were healthy. Thirty-one infants are now older than 24 months. Among them, three displayed behavioural abnormalities before 3 years of age. After completing data, there will be the possibility to evaluate the newborn status in relation to the mothers' diseases, treatments and antibodies and to follow the neuropsychological development and immunological evolution of the babies during the next 5 years.

European register of babies born to mothers with antiphospholipid syndrome.

This prospective multicentric register was initiated by the European Forum of Antiphospholipid Antibodies (APL) in 2003 after approval by local ethic committees. This register allows the investigation of infants after written informed parental consent. It collects mothers' clinical pattern of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), course and outcome of pregnancy, treatment and immunological status. For the babies, clinical and immunological examinations are performed at birth; neurodevelopmental conditions followed up to five years. A re-evaluation of lupus anticoagulant (LA), anticardiolipin (ACL) or other antibodies will be done if they are positive at birth to follow their kinetics. A descriptive and a case control study of babies with versus without APL at birth will be possible after the inclusion of 300 cases.

Effects of ultrasound on the electrochemical cementation of cadmium by zinc powder.

This work is devoted to a kinetics study of cadmium electrochemical cementation on zinc powder under ultrasonic low-frequency field (20 kHz). Compared to mechanical stirring with a Rushton turbine and for the same suspension quality, ultrasound lead to a lower kinetics during the major part of the reaction but to final conversion rate near 100%. Pointing out a thermal modification in the deposit morphology due to acoustic cavitation, gives explanation to these processes changes. Besides several acting parameter effects, such as temperature, metallic ion concentrations or ultrasonic power have been observed and analysed.

[Report of the "Health and Environment" commission of the National Academy of pharmacy. Carbon monoxide and environmental health: are carbon monoxide levels in urban areas a health hazard?]. / Le monoxyde de carbone CO et la santé environnementale: CO est-il nocif aux concentrations urbaines actuelles?

In an urban environment, carbon monoxide is produced by incomplete combustion, particularly in motor vehicles. Air pollution caused by CO produced by motor vehicles is controlled by legislation. Legal regulations have considerably lowered emission levels authorized for new vehicles and total CO emission levels. CO levels in the environment (urban environment in general and zones close to motorways) have thus declined. CO remains a public health concern both as a pollutant and as an indicator of air quality. We recall here the more recent approaches used to assess CO-related hazards developed by the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States and pertinent conclusions backing up previously defined reference levels. We then report recent French data concerning CO emission, environmental levels and evaluation procedures for different situations of human exposure: geographical situations, mode of transportation, police force, air sentinels. The third part of this article is devoted to biological data (interaction between CO and hemo-proteins, CO neurotransmitter?) and epidemiological data (serial surveys). The discussion centers on the limitations of epidemiological data and on the difficulty in evaluating hazards solely on the basis of a carboxyhemoglobin threshold. This latter point is particularly important because carboxyhemoglobin is only one of many indicators of air quality. Finally recommendations are proposed concerning weather-related aspects, evaluation of human exposure, and ways of improving biological and epidemiological data.

[Ovarian vein thrombophlebitis and post-partum fever]. / Thrombophlébite de la veine ovarienne et fièvre du post-partum.

INTRODUCTION: Ovarian vein thrombophlebitis (OVT) is a rare but potentially threatening complication of the postpartum period. Diagnosing it may be of some difficulty especially in case of symptoms mimicking appendicitis or pyelonephritis. EXEGESIS: We report 2 patients with postpartum right OVT. The clinical presentation included high grade fever, and pain, lumbar in one case, of the right flank in the other. Pulmonary embolism complicated both cases. CONCLUSION: Diagnostic and therapeutic management of OVT was transformed by progresses in medical imaging during the 1980's. However, optimal duration of anticoagulant treatment and secondary prevention indications have to be determined.

[Neonatal cutaneous lupus. Necessary interdisciplinary collaboration]. / Lupus cutané néonatal. Nécessaire collaboration interdisciplinaire.

INTRODUCTION: Neonatal lupus erythematosus is a rare syndrome (affecting 5% of the children born of mothers with lupus), characterized essentially by cutaneous lesions and/or congenital auricular-ventricular heart block. It is due to the transplacental passage of maternal antibodies (anti-SSA or anti-SSB, or occasionally anti-U1RNP antibodies) into the fetal circulation. OBSERVATION: We report a case of neonatal lupus erythematosus, having appeared 4 weeks after birth. The 26 years old mother exhibited systemic lupus erythematosus concomitant to Gougerot-Sjögren's syndrome, with positive antinuclear factors (1/2560), native anti-DNA, anti-SSA and anti-SSB antibodies and anticardiolipin antibodies. During pregnancy, the mother had been treated with aspirin at the dose of 100 mg/day, followed by subcutaneous enoxaparin 0.4 ml/day, and combined with prednisone 10 mg/d and hydroxychloroquine 400 mg/day. Early and regular cardiac monitoring of the foetus was performed. The clinical examination and the electrocardiogram at birth were normal. Four weeks later, the infant presented with erythematous cutaneous lesions with atrophic center. No systemic treatment was initiated and the lesions partially regressed. CONCLUSION: Cutaneous lesions can also appear after the 4th week of life. It is important that the pediatricians clinically monitor all the children born to mothers exhibiting anti-SSA or anti-SSB antibodies, at least during the first 7 months of life.

High levels of circulating thrombomodulin in human foetuses and children.

Thrombomodulin (TM) is an endothelial cell surface proteoglycan with anticoagulant functions, also implicated in cell proliferation, cell-cell adhesion and differentiation. In this study we determined circulating plasma TM (pTM) levels in human foetuses at different stages of pregnancy, at birth and in childhood. TM levels increased with gestational age, the median level reaching a peak of approximately 165 ng/ml between the 23rd and 26th week, thereafter decreasing gradually, reaching a value of 108 ng/ml at birth. pTM continues to decrease progressively during childhood, reaching in the 5-15 years group a median of 56 ng/ml which approaches the adult value. The pTM peak was statistically significant and represents a specific foetal phenomenon as it was independent of the corresponding maternal values. As a whole, the pTM pattern during foetal maturation appears totally different from that of protein C, prothrombin and other coagulation activators and inhibitors and thus, TM may play in the foetus another role in addition to its well-known anticoagulant function.

Elevated concentrations of soluble E-selectin and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 in NIDDM. Effect of intensive insulin treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a 14-day intensive insulin therapy and short-term improvement of glycemic control on serum levels of soluble forms of adhesion molecules, i.e., intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), and E-selectin (sE-selectin) in NIDDM patients with poor glycemic control. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A total of 16 NIDDM patients were compared with 23 healthy subjects (control group) and investigated before and after intensive insulin treatment. RESULTS: On day 0, sE-selectin and sVCAM-1 levels were significantly higher in NIDDM patients than in nondiabetic control subjects (median 87, range 63-115; median 544, range 408-797 vs. 58, 43-80; 443, 395-573 ng/ml, respectively) (P < 0.008 in both cases). On day 15, the fall in sE-selectin levels was significant (P < 0.0001) and at a lesser extent in sVCAM-1 levels (64, 48-85; 506, 417-678 ng/ml, respectively); these levels reached values that no longer differed from those of control subjects (P = 0.23 and 0.15, respectively). Moreover, the fall in sE-selectin was positively associated with the change in LDL cholesterol and the improvement of glycemia. CONCLUSIONS: In poorly controlled NIDDM patients, sE-selectin levels are increased and significantly fall to normal after short-term improvement of glycemic control. This suggests that assaying sE-selectin makes it possible to detect endothelium activation and to follow its reversal with euglycemia.

Hyperinsulinemia and hypofibrinolysis: effects of short-term optimized glycemic control with continuous insulin infusion in type II diabetic patients.

A defect in the fibrinolytic system results from an increase in type 1 plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1) in diabetes. It can be considered an independent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. In obese and type II diabetic patients, plasma PAI-1 level correlates with fasting insulinemia. However, during the euglycemic clamp, acute hyperinsulinemia does not increase PAI-1 production. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of optimized glycemic control by continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) on the hypofibrinolytic state for 14 days in 16 type II diabetic patients with poor metabolic control despite maximal oral antidiabetic treatment. Plasma PAI-1 activity levels decreased from 13.38 +/- 2.85 IU/mL to 6.77 +/- 1.81 IU/mL (P = .002) during CSII, along with a concurrent improvement in insulin sensitivity (index obtained by basal glycemia-nadir glycemia/basal glycemia) during the insulin sensitivity test (0.121 +/- 0.03 v 0.057 +/- 0.02, P = .02). These results suggest that insulin resistance rather than hyperinsulinism may be involved in the hypofibrinolytic state in type II diabetic patients. The positive correlation between the changes in triglycerides and in PAI-1 activity (r = .589, P = .026) strongly suggests a role for triglycerides in the impairment of fibrinolysis, which could be a link between insulin resistance and hypofibrinolysis.

A three amino acid deletion in glycoprotein IIIa is responsible for type I Glanzmann's thrombasthenia: importance of residues Ile325Pro326Gly327 for beta3 integrin subunit association.

Glanzmann's thrombasthenia (GT) is a recessive autosomal bleeding disorder characterized by abnormal platelet aggregation due to a qualitative or quantitative defect of the glycoprotein (GP) IIb-IIIa complex (integrin alphaIIb beta3). We describe a new mutation in the GPIIIa gene responsible for type I GT in a consanguineous Algerian family. A discordance between phenotyping and genotyping of the GPIIIa-related HPA-1 platelet alloantigen system in three family members heterozygous for the disease suggested a genetic defect in the GPIIIa gene and a normal GPIIb gene. Sequence analysis of amplified genomic DNA fragments showed a 6-bp deletion in exon 7 of the GPIIIa gene resulting in the amino acid deletion/substitution (Ile325pro326Gly327 --> Met) and creating a new BspHI restriction site. Expression of the mutated integrin beta3 subunit cDNA in Chinese hamster ovary cells showed that the cDNA gene was transcribed into a full-length beta3 protein with an apparent molecular weight identical to wild-type beta3 and accumulated as a single-chain molecule in the cell cytoplasm. The absence of heterodimeric complex formation of the mutant beta3 protein with endogenous alpha v was shown by immunoprecipitation experiments, intracellular immunofluorescent labeling, and a semiquantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using the alpha vbeta3 complex-specific monoclonal antibodies LM609 and 23C6. Substitution of the methionine residue by a proline, present at position 326 of wild-type beta3, did not restore the ability of the recombinant mutant beta3 protein to associate with alpha v , suggesting that the Ile-Pro-Gly motif is located in a beta3 domain important for integrin subunit interaction. The association of a BspHI restriction site with this newly identified mutation has allowed allele-specific restriction analysis of Algerian GT individuals and the identification of two new unrelated type I patients exhibiting the same mutation, suggesting that the described mutation might be significant in this population and that BspHI restriction analysis will provide a useful screening assay for antenatal diagnosis and genetic counselling.

Platelet phenotyping in carriers for Glanzmann's thrombasthenia: a simple screening test for assessment of the molecular defect.

Glanzmann's thrombasthenia (GT) is a recessive autosomal bleeding disorder characterized by the abnormality of aggregation due to a platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb-IIIa deficiency or a dysfunctional complex. Molecular abnormalities have been localized on the gene coding for GP IIb or IIIa. The aim of our work was an attempt to obtain indirectly information on the putative localization of the molecular defect in patients with GT type I or II by the determination of the HPA-1 (GP IIIa) and HPA-3 (GP IIb) alloantigenic systems' expression in GT carriers. If GT results from a defective GP IIb gene, a GT carrier would appear homozygous for HPA-3 by serology, because the normal gene product will be expressed while the abnormal GP IIb gene product will not be present. Conversely, if the abnormality is in the GP IIIa gene, such an individual would appear homozygous for HPA-1. Therefore, the heterozygous status for HPA would result from the normal expression of the two genes for the considered alloantigenic system. Among the four families studied with informative members, our presumptions were strengthened by the preliminary genetic results in one family showing a mutation in the GP IIb gene. Thus, serology could be a simple screening test for the possible defective gene responsible for GT allowing molecular investigation focusing only on GP IIb or IIIa gene.

Risk of thromboembolism in relation to an in-vitro fertilization programme: three case reports.

Severe thrombotic events following ovarian stimulation for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures in three women are reported. None of these patients presented any concomitant clinical sign of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. Coagulation inhibitors were in the normal range but cardiovascular risk factors were present. It is postulated that early thrombosis could be favoured by high endogenous plasma oestrogen concentrations subsequent to ovarian stimulation when associated with another risk factor. Our data are discussed in relation to previous publications. It is suggested that risk factors must be considered individually before each IVF attempt. In patients at high risk, clinical management of the post-transfer period is recommended.