Microalgal Biomass of Industrial Interest: Methods of Characterization

International audienceMicroalgae represent a new source of biomass for many applications. The advantage of microalgae over higher plants is their high productivities. The photoautotrophic microalgae include all photosynthetic microorganisms, i.e. Cyanobacteria (prokaryotes) or microalgae (eukaryotes). These microorganisms are characterized by a large biodiversity and chimiodiversity. Then, the analysis of microalgal and cyanobacterial biomass often needs specific adaptations of the classical protocols for extraction as well as for quantification of their contents. This chapter reviewed the main analytical methods used for the analysis of microalgae biomass and its main vaporizable compounds: proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, pigments and secondary metabolites

The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

AimThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery.MethodsThis was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin.ResultsOverall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P ConclusionOne in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease