Optimal distribution of phosphorus compounds in multi-layered natural fabric reinforced biocomposites

Flame retardancy and mechanical performance of multi-layered biocomposites, consisting of polylactic acid (PLA) matrix films and plain-woven flax fabrics as reinforcement, were investigated. Full factorial design (32) was applied to evaluate the effects of the distribution of P and N containing compounds between the matrix and the fibrous carrier. Composition property correlations of the composite constituents (i.e. flax fabrics treated in aqueous solutions of diammonium phosphate and urea with differing ratio and concentrations and matrix films with 0 to 20 wt% ammonium polyphosphate based intumescent flame retardant content) were determined by thermogravimetric analyses and open flame tests. Positive interaction between the composite constituents was revealed for green composites consisting of various combinations of treated fabrics and intumescent PLA systems. The biocomposites flame retarded with a combined approach, i.e. with a balanced distribution of P containing additives between the phases, were found to gain improved mechanical performance and fire retardancy. It was confirmed by tensile testing and electron microscopy as well as by UL-94, limiting oxygen index and cone calorimeter tests. As a conclusion, interpretation is given for the optimum found

Tandem quadruplication of HMA4 in the zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulator noccaea caerulescens

Zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulation may have evolved twice in the Brassicaceae, in Arabidopsis halleri and in the Noccaea genus. Tandem gene duplication and deregulated expression of the Zn transporter, HMA4, has previously been linked to Zn/Cd hyperaccumulation in A. halleri. Here, we tested the hypothesis that tandem duplication and deregulation of HMA4 expression also occurs in Noccaea. A Noccaea caerulescens genomic library was generated, containing 36,864 fosmid pCC1FOSTM clones with insert sizes ~20–40 kbp, and screened with a PCR-generated HMA4 genomic probe. Gene copy number within the genome was estimated through DNA fingerprinting and pooled fosmid pyrosequencing. Gene copy numbers within individual clones was determined by PCR analyses with novel locus specific primers. Entire fosmids were then sequenced individually and reads equivalent to 20-fold coverage were assembled to generate complete whole contigs. Four tandem HMA4 repeats were identified in a contiguous sequence of 101,480 bp based on sequence overlap identities. These were flanked by regions syntenous with up and downstream regions of AtHMA4 in Arabidopsis thaliana. Promoter-reporter b-glucuronidase (GUS) fusion analysis of a NcHMA4 in A. thaliana revealed deregulated expression in roots and shoots, analogous to AhHMA4 promoters, but distinct from AtHMA4 expression which localised to the root vascular tissue. This remarkable consistency in tandem duplication and deregulated expression of metal transport genes between N. caerulescens and A. halleri, which last shared a common ancestor >40 mya, provides intriguing evidence that parallel evolutionary pathways may underlie Zn/Cd hyperaccumulation in Brassicaceae

Apocrine Hidradenocarcinoma of the Scalp: A Classification Conundrum

Introduction The classification of malignant sweat gland lesions is complex. Traditionally, cutaneous sweat gland tumors have been classified by either eccrine or apocrine features. Methods A case report of a 33-year-old Hispanic man with a left scalp mass diagnosed as a malignancy of adnexal origin preoperatively is discussed. After presentation at our multidisciplinary tumor board, excision with ipsilateral neck dissection was undertaken. Results Final pathology revealed an apocrine hidradenocarcinoma. The classification and behavior of this entity are discussed in this report. Conclusion Apocrine hidradenocarcinoma can be viewed as an aggressive malignant lesion of cutaneous sweat glands on a spectrum that involves both eccrine and apoeccrine lesions

: Familias populares e institução escolar : entre autonomia e heteronomia

Version française de "Familias populares e institução escolar : entre autonomia e heteronomia", Educação e Pesquisa, 2010, vol. 36, n°espcial, p. 65-76International audienceL'article se propose d'analyser quelques problèmes théoriques dans l'étude des relations entre familles populaires et école, problèmes qui sont ceux que rencontre la sociologie dans l'étude des classes populaires et de leurs relations avec le monde dominant et les institutions. Il explore la possibilité de dépasser l'alternative entre une perspective strictement légitimiste qui tend à réduire les classes populaires et leurs pratiques au rapport de domination qui les aliène (hétéronomie) et la perspective relativiste qui les envisage dans une altérité radicale (autonomie) en occultant les rapports sociaux de domination. Il insiste sur l'ambivalence des logiques et des pratiques des familles populaire

The low and declining risk of malaria in travellers to Latin America: is there still an indication for chemoprophylaxis?

A comparison was made between local malaria transmission and malaria imported by travellers to identify the utility of national and regional annual parasite index (API) in predicting malaria risk and its value in generating recommendations on malaria prophylaxis for travellers

Narcolepsy patients have antibodies that stain distinct cell populations in rat brain and influence sleep patterns.

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder, likely with an autoimmune component. During 2009 and 2010, a link between A(H1N1)pdm09 Pandemrix vaccination and onset of narcolepsy was suggested in Scandinavia. In this study, we searched for autoantibodies related to narcolepsy using a neuroanatomical array: rat brain sections were processed for immunohistochemistry/double labeling using patient sera/cerebrospinal fluid as primary antibodies. Sera from 89 narcoleptic patients, 52 patients with other sleep-related disorders (OSRDs), and 137 healthy controls were examined. Three distinct patterns of immunoreactivity were of particular interest: pattern A, hypothalamic melanin-concentrating hormone and proopiomelanocortin but not hypocretin/orexin neurons; pattern B, GABAergic cortical interneurons; and pattern C, mainly globus pallidus neurons. Altogether, 24 of 89 (27%) narcoleptics exhibited pattern A or B or C. None of the patterns were exclusive for narcolepsy but were also detected in the OSRD group at significantly lower numbers. Also, some healthy controls exhibited these patterns. The antigen of pattern A autoantibodies was identified as the common C-terminal epitope of neuropeptide glutamic acid-isoleucine/alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (NEI/alphaMSH) peptides. Passive transfer experiments on rat showed significant effects of pattern A human IgGs on rapid eye movement and slow-wave sleep time parameters in the inactive phase and EEG theta-power in the active phase. We suggest that NEI/alphaMSH autoantibodies may interfere with the fine regulation of sleep, contributing to the complex pathogenesis of narcolepsy and OSRDs. Also, patterns B and C are potentially interesting, because recent data suggest a relevance of those brain regions/neuron populations in the regulation of sleep/arousal