TPE et ateliers ruraux : vecteurs de revitalisation socio-économique en zones rurales

Conference (2012)

Stainless steel in structures in view of sustainability

in Stainless steel in structures: Fourth International Structural Stainless Steel Experts Seminar: Ascot 6)7 December 2012 (2012)

Recent years have seen an increase in the use of structural stainless steel, mainly owing to its aesthetic and architectural qualities alongside durability. Among stainless steels, ferritic grades are ... [more ▼]

Recent years have seen an increase in the use of structural stainless steel, mainly owing to its aesthetic and architectural qualities alongside durability. Among stainless steels, ferritic grades are characterized by low nickel content resulting in a more cost-stable and economic material compared with austenitic stainless steels, allowing a balanced approach between economic and environmental aspects. As an introduction, this paper presents the recent research outcomes especially concerning the currently ongoing RFCS project “Structural Applications of Ferritic Stainless Steels”. Then, attention is paid to the advantages and challenges associated with the use of this material in recent construction projects in view of sustainability. Life cycle analysis is explained. The background of the new European standard EN 15804 is described, including Module D, which takes now into account the end-of-life phase. Life cycle inventories of stainless steel products (cold-rolled coils and quarto plate) are presented. Depending on the fraction of material recovered at the end of the lifespan, several potential impacts such as the Primary Energy Demand and Global Warming Potential are compared for four grades: 1.4301 (AISI 304) and 1.4401 (AISI 316) austenitic grades, 1.4016 (AISI 430) ferritic grade and 1.4462 (AISI 2205) duplex grade. The influence of the end-of-life credits and loads is underlined. [less ▲]

Le nonce et le confesseur princier: jeux d'influence au sein des Pays-Bas espagnols durant la première moitié du xviie siècle

in Revista de la Inquisicion (2012), 16

À Bruxelles, à la cour des archiducs puis des Gouverneurs-généraux, le confesseur princier est vu comme un personnage influent. Les nonces, soutenus par la secrétairerie d'État romaine, vont développer ... [more ▼]

À Bruxelles, à la cour des archiducs puis des Gouverneurs-généraux, le confesseur princier est vu comme un personnage influent. Les nonces, soutenus par la secrétairerie d'État romaine, vont développer, au cours du xviie siècle, un ensemble de stratégies pour faire de ce personnage la pièce maîtresse de leur action. Ces religieux, quant à eux, se considèrent plutôt comme les serviteurs de la Couronne espagnole, dont les intérêts ne sont pas toujours en phase avec ceux de la papauté. Cette étude vise à démontrer l'asymétrie de la relation entre confesseurs et diplomates romains. [less ▲]

Bibliographie indicative de travaux de langue française

in AnthropoChildren : Perspectives ethnographiques sur les enfants & l'enfance = Ethnographic Perspectives in Children & Childhood (2012)

New surgical options in the management of menometrorrhagia: an overview

Poster (2012)

An experimental approach for synthesis of Fe-Al-O multiferroic fibrous material

in Journal of Physics: Conference Series [=JPCS] (2012), 398

Basic principles of the electro-hydrodynamics are applied for synthesis of solid state Fe-Al-O multi-ferroic fibrous material. For that purpose stable blend spinning solutions comprised of a high ... [more ▼]

Basic principles of the electro-hydrodynamics are applied for synthesis of solid state Fe-Al-O multi-ferroic fibrous material. For that purpose stable blend spinning solutions comprised of a high molecular assisting organic polymer and salts of iron and aluminum are developed. These solutions are tested under electrospinning conditions and synthesis of homogeneous as spun non-woven mats characterized by fibre mean diameters in the microand nano-size range is successfully demonstrated. Multi-step thermal procedure is applied for the consecutive solvent evaporation, polymer pyrolisis and final fibre calcination. Electronoptical imaging technique and XRD are applied for revealing the sample morphology and the phase composition correspondingly. The results obtained outline the wide possibilities for fabrication of multi-ferroics fibrous nano-materials on the basis of Fe-Al-O. [less ▲]

A dynamic in vivo model of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions in circulating tumor cells and metastases of breast cancer.

in Oncogene (2012), 31(33), 3741-53

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) processes endow epithelial cells with enhanced migratory/invasive properties and are therefore likely to contribute to tumor invasion and metastatic spread ... [more ▼]

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) processes endow epithelial cells with enhanced migratory/invasive properties and are therefore likely to contribute to tumor invasion and metastatic spread. Because of the difficulty in following EMT processes in human tumors, we have developed and characterized an animal model with transplantable human breast tumor cells (MDA-MB-468) uniquely showing spontaneous EMT events to occur. Using vimentin as a marker of EMT, heterogeneity was revealed in the primary MDA-MB-468 xenografts with vimentin-negative and vimentin-positive areas, as also observed on clinical human invasive breast tumor specimens. Reverse transcriptase-PCR after microdissection of these populations from the xenografts revealed EMT traits in the vimentin-positive zones characterized by enhanced 'mesenchymal gene' expression (Snail, Slug and fibroblast-specific protein-1) and diminished expression of epithelial molecules (E-cadherin, ZO-3 and JAM-A). Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) were detected in the blood as soon as 8 days after s.c. injection, and lung metastases developed in all animals injected as examined by in vivo imaging analyses and histology. High levels of vimentin RNA were detected in CTCs by reverse transcriptase-quantitative PCR as well as, to a lesser extent, Snail and Slug RNA. Von Willebrand Factor/vimentin double immunostainings further showed that tumor cells in vascular tumoral emboli all expressed vimentin. Tumoral emboli in the lungs also expressed vimentin whereas macrometastases displayed heterogenous vimentin expression, as seen in the primary xenografts. In conclusion, our data uniquely demonstrate in an in vivo context that EMT occurs in the primary tumors, and associates with an enhanced ability to intravasate and generate CTCs. They further suggest that mesenchymal-to-epithelial phenomena occur in secondary organs, facilitating the metastatic growth [less ▲]

Membrane-active lipopeptide fengycin from B. subtilis : structural and functional investigations

Conference (2012)

The Basic Property of Lys385 Is Important for Potentiation of the Human alpha1 Glycine Receptor by Ethanol.

in Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (2012), 340(2), 339-49

Ethanol alters the function of several members of the Cys-loop ligand-gated ion channel superfamily. Recent studies have shown that the sensitivity of the alpha1 glycine receptor (GlyR) to ethanol can be ... [more ▼]

Ethanol alters the function of several members of the Cys-loop ligand-gated ion channel superfamily. Recent studies have shown that the sensitivity of the alpha1 glycine receptor (GlyR) to ethanol can be affected by the state of G protein activation mediated by the interaction of Gbetagamma with intracellular amino acids in the GlyR. Here, we evaluated the physicochemical property of Lys385 that contributes to ethanol modulation by using mutagenesis, patch-clamp, and biochemical techniques. A conserved substitution (K385R) did not affect either the apparent glycine EC(50) (40 +/- 1 versus 41 +/- 0.5 muM) or the ethanol-induced potentiation (53 +/- 5 versus 46 +/- 5%) of the human alpha1 GlyR. On the other hand, replacement of this residue with glutamic acid (K385E), an acidic amino acid, reduced the potentiation of the GlyR to 10 +/- 1%. Furthermore, mutations with a hydrophobic leucine (K385L), a hydrogen bond donor glutamine (K385Q), or a neutral residue (K385A) also reduced ethanol modulation. Finally, substitution by a large and hydrophobic residue (K385F) and deletion of 385 (Lys385_) reduced ethanol modulation to 10 +/- 4 and 17 +/- 0.4%, respectively. Experiments using dynamic cysteine substitution with a methanethiosulfonate reagent and homology modeling indicate that the basic property and the position of Lys385, probably because of its interaction with Gbetagamma, is critical for ethanol potentiation of the receptor. [less ▲]

Electrophysiological investigations of brain function in coma, vegetative and minimally conscious patients.

in Archives Italiennes de Biologie (2012), 150(2-3), 122-39

Electroencephalographic activity in the context of disorders of consciousness is a swiss knife like tool that can evaluate different aspects of cognitive residual function, detect consciousness and ... [more ▼]

Electroencephalographic activity in the context of disorders of consciousness is a swiss knife like tool that can evaluate different aspects of cognitive residual function, detect consciousness and provide a mean to communicate with the outside world without using muscular channels. Standard recordings in the neurological department offer a first global view of the electrogenesis of a patient and can spot abnormal epileptiform activity and therefore guide treatment. Although visual patterns have a prognosis value, they are not sufficient to provide a diagnosis between vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS) and minimally conscious state (MCS) patients. Quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) processes the data and retrieves features, not visible on the raw traces, which can then be classified. Current results using qEEG show that MCS can be differentiated from VS/UWS patients at the group level. Event Related Potentials (ERP) are triggered by varying stimuli and reflect the time course of information processing related to the stimuli from low-level peripheral receptive structures to high-order associative cortices. It is hence possible to assess auditory, visual, or emotive pathways. Different stimuli elicit positive or negative components with different time signatures. The presence of these components when observed in passive paradigms is usually a sign of good prognosis but it cannot differentiate VS/UWS and MCS patients. Recently, researchers have developed active paradigms showing that the amplitude of the component is modulated when the subject's attention is focused on a task during stimulus presentation. Hence significant differences between ERPs of a patient in a passive compared to an active paradigm can be a proof of consciousness. An EEG-based brain-computer interface (BCI) can then be tested to provide the patient with a communication tool. BCIs have considerably improved the past two decades. However they are not easily adaptable to comatose patients as they can have visual or auditory impairments or different lesions affecting their EEG signal. Future progress will require large databases of resting state-EEG and ERPs experiment of patients of different etiologies. This will allow the identification of specific patterns related to the diagnostic of consciousness. Standardized procedures in the use of BCIs will also be needed to find the most suited technique for each individual patient. [less ▲]