•Reinforcement strategies for earth depends on the clay mineralogy.•Fibers, Particles packing optimization and alginate are efficient for kaolinite clay soils.•Woven fabrics act efficiently for all ...kinds of soils.•Coupling reinforcement strategies can lead to earth-based composites with high compressive strength (18.5 MPa).
Earth-based mortars are commonly reinforced with bio-based materials such as straw or biopolymers. The aim of this work is to identify reinforcements that are able to improve the mechanical strengths and the ductility of an earth-based matrix. We have also attempted to describe the mechanisms of reinforcement involved in such materials. Firstly, a kaolinite-based clay soil was mixed with sand to achieve earth-based mortars with the highest density at the dry state. For this material (kaolinite-based mortar), we have shown that, at the same water content, the compressive strength at the dry state only depends on the dry density of the sample whatever the forming process. Various quantities of fibers, fabrics and alginate were then used to reinforce the studied mortars (a kaolinite based mortar and a natural soil containing swelling clay sieved at 4 mm). We found that these reinforcements significantly increase the compressive strength of all tested samples containing kaolinite. A comparison between the two materials helps us to understand the reinforcement mechanisms for various fibers; it also demonstrates that natural fibers and woven fabrics enhance the mechanical behavior of earth mortars notably under a compressive load.
Abstract A series of 10 heterocyclic compounds purified from Allanblackia were tested on two B cell lines, ESKOL and EHEB, and on cells from B-CLL patients. Several molecules inhibited the ...proliferation of both cell lines and promoted apoptosis of B-CLL cells through different mechanisms, some of them elicited a dissipation of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential, other triggered caspase-3 activation and cleavage of the inducible nitric oxide synthase. Blood mononuclear cells and B-lymphocytes from healthy donors appeared less sensitive than B-CLL cells. These results indicate that these molecules may be of interest in the development of new therapies for B-CLL.
Establishing links between Mendelian phenotypes and genes enables the proper interpretation of variants therein. Autozygome, a rich source of homozygous variants, has been successfully utilized for ...the high throughput identification of novel autosomal recessive disease genes. Here, we highlight the utility of the autozygome for the high throughput confirmation of previously published tentative links to diseases.
Autozygome and exome analysis of patients with suspected Mendelian phenotypes. All variants were classified according to the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics guidelines.
We highlight 30 published candidate genes (ACTL6B, ADAM22, AGTPBP1, APC, C12orf4, C3orf17 (NEPRO), CENPF, CNPY3, COL27A1, DMBX1, FUT8, GOLGA2, KIAA0556, LENG8, MCIDAS, MTMR9, MYH11, QRSL1, RUBCN, SLC25A42, SLC9A1, TBXT, TFG, THUMPD1, TRAF3IP2, UFC1, UFM1, WDR81, XRCC2, ZAK) in which we identified homozygous likely deleterious variants in patients with compatible phenotypes. We also identified homozygous likely deleterious variants in 18 published candidate genes (ABCA2, ARL6IP1, ATP8A2, CDK9, CNKSR1, DGAT1, DMXL2, GEMIN4, HCN2, HCRT, MYO9A, PARS2, PLOD3, PREPL, SCLT1, STX3, TXNRD2, WIPI2) although the associated phenotypes are sufficiently different from the original reports that they represent phenotypic expansion or potentially distinct allelic disorders.
Our results should facilitate the timely relabeling of these candidate disease genes in relevant databases to improve the yield of clinical genomic sequencing.
The joint toxicity of nine binary mixtures of a metal (arsenic, copper, or cadmium) and a pesticide (carbofuran, dichlorvos, or malathion) was determined in the marine microcrustacean Tigriopus ...brevicornis (Muller) (Copepoda) by 96-h LC50 tests and measurement of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition. Acetylcholinesterase is used in the marine coastal environment as a biomarker to evaluate exposure to neurotoxic pollutants, including organophosphorous (OP) and carbamate (C) insecticides and most metals. A toxic unit (TU) approach was used to test the response addition model for mixtures of chemicals with different action modes. Studies of mixtures showed synergistic lethal effects in all cases (the strongest acute effects being observed in copper-malathion, cadmium-malathion, dichlorvos-malathion, and cadmium-dichlorvos combinations). At the sublethal level, the presence of the three metals tested seemed to enhance the inhibitory effects of certain OP and C insecticides.
Short-term 96-h semistatic bioassays were used to establish the LC sub(50) values of arsenic, cadmium, atrazine, carbofuran, dichlorvos, and malathion for the marine copepod, Tigriopus brevicornis. ...Ovigerous females, copepodids, and nauplii were used. With the exception of atrazine, nauplii were 2 4 times more sensitive than the adult life stages and copepodid stages for exposure to all toxicants. Dichlorvos was the most toxic compound to copepods. Mortality and toxicant concentrations were highly correlated for the ovigerous female stage for all toxicants except the two metals. The LC sub(50) values of atrazine, carbofuran, dichlorvos, malathion, As, and Cd for nauplii were 120.9, 17.7, 0.92, 7.2, 10.9, and 17.4 mu g/l. For copepodids and ovigerous females, the values were 124.5, 36.5, 2.9, 20.5, 19.8, and 29.7 mu g/l, and 153.2, 59.9, 4.6, 24.3, 27.5, and 47.9 mu g/l, respectively.
Important Cd contamination has been observed in the Gironde estuary, France, but other metallic and organic pollutants are also present. Since sediment is well-known as a major compartment for the ...storage of numerous pollutants in aquatic environments, its contribution as a source of pollutants for the biota has been examined according to different methodologies. Geochemical studies have provided estimates of Cd mobility particularly with decreasing pHs and increasing salinity, a result in agreement with the relative abundance of exchangeable Cd and Cd bound to carbonates shown by sequential extraction. When in vitro assays tended to be more realistic with regard to the digestion process in bivalves, Cd extraction at low pH was lowered but was still important compared to Cu or Zn. Moreover, toxicity of Gironde sediments to copepod and sea urchin larval stages (not to oyster larvae) brought indirect evidence of the bioavailability of sediment-bound pollutants. Except the aromatic compound perylene, bioaccumulation in bivalves concerns mainly metals. In oysters they were found preferentially in the soluble phase and, in the cytosol, a strong relationship between cadmium and metallothionein-like proteins has been shown, suggesting a detoxication process in this species. This hypothesis is in agreement with the fact that neither cytopathological effects in gills and digestive glands nor marked changes of condition index were observed. On the other hand, no changes in MTLP levels in mussels were induced by metal accumulation in individuals transplanted from a comparatively unpolluted area (Bay of Bourgneuf). The stability of GST activity may be related to a poor accumulation of aromatic compounds. Changes in MDA concentration, AChE and catalase activities are discussed. Mobility, bioavailability of pollutants, significant responses of biomarkers suggest a potential environmental hazard. However, since interspecific differences occur, is the risk at the level of the whole estuarine ecosystem equilibrium or is it limited to a small number of species?
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