Nanoscale Metallic Iron for Environmental Remediation: Prospects and Limitations

The amendment of the subsurface with nanoscale metallic iron particles (nano-Fe0) has been discussed in the literature as an efficient in situ technology for groundwater remediation. However, the introduction of this technology was controversial and its efficiency has never been univocally established. This unsatisfying situation has motivated this communication whose objective was a comprehensive discussion of the intrinsic reactivity of nano-Fe0 based on the contemporary knowledge on the mechanism of contaminant removal by Fe0 and a mathematical model. It is showed that due to limitations of the mass transfer of nano-Fe0 to contaminants, available concepts cannot explain the success of nano-Fe0 injection for in situ groundwater remediation. It is recommended to test the possibility of introducing nano-Fe0 to initiate the formation of roll-fronts which propagation would induce the reductive transformation of both dissolved and adsorbed contaminants. Within a roll-front, FeII from nano-Fe0 is the reducing agent for contaminants. FeII is recycled by biotic or abiotic FeIII reduction. While the roll-front concept could explain the success of already implemented reaction zones, more research is needed for a science-based recommendation of nano- Fe0 for subsurface treatment by roll-front

Chromatin and epigenetics: current biophysical views

Recent advances in high-throughput sequencing experiments and their theoretical descriptions have determined fast dynamics of the "chromatin and epigenetics" field, with new concepts appearing at high rate. This field includes but is not limited to the study of DNA-protein-RNA interactions, chromatin packing properties at different scales, regulation of gene expression and protein trafficking in the cell nucleus, binding site search in the crowded chromatin environment and modulation of physical interactions by covalent chemical modifications of the binding partners. The current special issue does not pretend for the full coverage of the field, but it rather aims to capture its development and provide a snapshot of the most recent concepts and approaches. Eighteen open-access articles comprising this issue provide a delicate balance between current theoretical and experimental biophysical approaches to uncover chromatin structure and understand epigenetic regulation, allowing free flow of new ideas and preliminary results

Translocation and rearrangement of c-myc into immunoglobulin alpha heavy chain locus in primary cells from acute lymphocytic leukemia.

We report the molecular analysis of an 8;14 reciprocal chromosome translocation in a case of acute lymphocytic leukemia (L3 type). DNA from primary leukemic cells was analyzed on the basis of restriction endonuclease mapping by hybridization with various human c-myc and Ig heavy chain probes. The breakpoint of the translocation is within an approximately equal to 200-base-pair region in the first intron of the c-myc gene. The first, untranslated exon thereby remains on chromosome 8q-, whereas the whole protein-coding region is rearranged in the C alpha 1 locus on chromosome 14q+. RNA transfer blot analysis showed high levels of at least two different c-myc transcripts originated from the translocated gene. Both differ in size from the normal 2.2- and 2.4-kilobase transcripts. Both c-myc structure and expression were apparently normalized in remission phase. These studies demonstrate rearrangement and abnormal expression of c-myc in primary cells from an acute leukemia patient, thus adding to the concept of a key role for c-onc in human oncogenesis

Simulation par irradiation aux ions des dégâts d'irradiation dans le combustible nucléaire usé en situation de stockage géologique : Apport des études par DRX

International audienceDans un scénario de stockage à sec du combustible usé en couche géologiques profondes, le comportement de l’He, produit par décroissance α des radionucléides créés lors de l’irradiation en réacteur, doit être étudié. Un programme CEA-EDF a été développé dans les années 2000, aboutissant à la définition d’un modèle opérationnel. Une problématique reste cependant à investiguer, celle de la stabilité mécanique du combustible et notamment de ses joints de grains sur de très longues durées de stockage

Degradação de revestimentos de argamassa com finos de resíduos de concreto por ciclos térmicos

Este trabalho avalia propriedades de revestimentos de argamassa com finos de concreto submetidos a envelhecimento acelerado com ciclos térmicos, utilizando-se um método de ensaio baseado na NBR 15575-4 (ABNT, 2013). As argamassas foram produzidas no traço 1:1:6 em volume (cimento, cal e areia) utilizando-se cimento CP II F-32, cal CH-I em pasta, areia de rio e finos produzidos a partir de agregado reciclado de concreto, adicionado nos teores de 2%; 4,5%; 7% e 9,5% em relação à massa da areia. Os revestimentos foram aplicados sobre substrato de cerâmica vermelha e avaliados, aos 28 dias de idade, a partir da resistência de aderência e forma de ruptura (NBR 13528 (ABNT, 2010)), da dureza superficial determinada por durômetro Shore tipo D (ASTM D 2240-5 (AMERICAN..., 2005)) e da velocidade de propagação de ondas ultrassônicas. Após, os sistemas formados pelo revestimento de argamassa aplicado sobre o substrato cerâmico foram submetidos a envelhecimento acelerado por exposição à ciclagem térmica, o que degradou os revestimentos. Todos os revestimentos apresentaram queda de dureza superficial (na ordem de 10%), diminuição da velocidade de propagação de ondas ultrassônicas (na ordem de 25%) e queda de resistência dos valores médios de aderência, na ordem de 15%. A forma de ruptura observada nos ensaios de resistência de aderência foi fortemente alterada em função do envelhecimento, sendo possível constatar que os revestimentos com 2% e 4,5% de finos apresentaram maior degradação