Elaboration, by tape casting, of an SOFC half cell for low temperature applications

International audienceThese last past years, a major interest has been devoted to decrease the working temperature of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) down to about 700°C. In this respect, materials with a high ionic conductivity at low temperature have to be found and the rpocess to elaborate fuel cells, using these new materials, has to be developed .....

Rapid Training and Implementation of the Pollock Technique, a Safe, Effective Newborn Circumcision Procedure, in a Low-Resource Setting

Male circumcision is highly protective against urinary tract infections, inflammatory conditions of the penis, sexually transmitted infections, and urogenital cancers. We aimed to reintroduce newborn male circumcision through the creation of a training program in Port-au-Prince, Haiti?an area with a considerable burden of preventable urogenital infections, sexually transmitted infections, and low circumcision rate?after an earlier study reported that a majority of Haitian medical providers were in need of and wanted newborn circumcision training. The program was conducted at the GHESKIO Health Centers, a large, non-governmental clinic offering comprehensive pediatric and adult health services. Two Haitian obstetricians and seven nurses learned circumcision procedures. On training completion, one of two obstetricians achieved surgical competence. Introduction of a newborn male circumcision training program was feasible, achieving an acceptable rate of procedural competency and high-quality services. Permanent resources now exist in Haiti to train additional providers to perform newborn male circumcisions

European market structure for integrated home renovation support service: Scope and comparison of the different kind of one stop shops

While the retrofitting of the building stock seems to be an effective solution to reach the targets for 2049 greenhouse gas emission, the current rate and quality of work is still too low. This article first proposes a state-of-the-art methodology and a brief description of the barriers to renovation. The literature review identifies 26 major issues. Then, the one stop shops (OSS), which are introduced as a solution to these barriers, are described under different aspects according to their business model, the type of project owner targeted and the kind of services they offer with their support. Drawing on previous literature, this article proposes a classification framework. Then a comprehensive benchmark of 63 OSSs in Europe was conducted, allowing for a comparative analysis of the distribution of OSSs models across various countries and territories; it highlights the existing need in all countries, but also the disparity of support being provided. This examination revealed that selecting an appropriate OSS model cannot be solely based on factors like scope, ownership, or the existence of other OSSs. In the final section, a correlation study is made between several criteria (energy consumption and type, urbanization rate, construction date, climatic context, renovation rate etc.) that have been identified as being potentially indicative of renovation activities. The objective of this work is to provide an overview of the current context and emphasize effective strategies to accelerate the pace of renovation. By identifying and addressing the unique needs and challenges in each specific context, the goal is to promote efficient and streamlined renovation processes

Inequality in Europe: What can be done? What should be done?

As economic inequality in Europe has continued to rise, it has become the subject of increasing academic attention. What are the drivers of inequality? How does it affect intergenerational economic and social mobility? At what point does inequality become a drag on economic growth or a threat to social order? What economic policy tools are available to reduce inequality? This Forum addresses these and other aspects of this complex and disturbing trend. Case studies of Ireland, Germany and Spain also highlight the impact of economic inequality on individual member states

Cdx2 homeoprotein inhibits non-homologous end joining in colon cancer but not in leukemia cells

Cdx2, a gene of the paraHox cluster, encodes a homeodomain transcription factor that plays numerous roles in embryonic development and in homeostasis of the adult intestine. Whereas Cdx2 exerts a tumor suppressor function in the gut, its abnormal ectopic expression in acute leukemia is associated to a pro-oncogenic function. To try to understand this duality, we have hypothesized that Cdx2 may interact with different protein partners in the two tissues and set up experiments to identify them by tandem affinity purification. We show here that Cdx2 interacts with the Ku heterodimer specifically in intestinal cells, but not in leukemia cells, via its homeodomain. Ku proteins do not affect Cdx2 transcriptional activity. However, Cdx2 inhibits in vivo and in vitro the DNA repair activity mediated by Ku proteins in intestinal cells. Whereas Cdx2 does not affect the recruitment of Ku proteins and DNA-PKcs into the DNA repair complex, it inhibits DNA-PKcs activity. Thus, we report here a new function of Cdx2, acting as an inhibitor of the DNA repair machinery, that may contribute to its tumor suppressor function specifically in the gut

LEAFY expression and temporal sequence of floral transition in Sinapis alba L.

The shoot apical meristem (SAM) of Sinapis alba can be switched from vegetative to reproductive fate by exposure of 2-month old plants to a single long day (LD). Floral transition then occurs in good synchrony within a population, and a number of biochemical, cellular, and morphological changes have been described. Our aim is to integrate gene expression patterns into this timing. We report here the analysis of SaLFY, orthologous to the floral meristem identity gene LEAFY of Arabidopsis. Materials and Methods: Plants of Sinapis were grown in 8-h shorts days for two months before being induced to flower by one 22-h LD. Shoot apices were harvested 24, 32, 40, 48, 56 and 80h after start of the LD, and prepared for in situ hybridization (Melzer et al., 1999). Results and Conclusions: As expected, the expression of SaLFY was very strong in flower primordia. More surprisingly, SaLFY was expressed well before the initiation of flowers. First, a strong signal was detected in the tip of young leaf primordia of vegetative plants. Secondly, SaLFY was transiently expressed in the SAM of induced plants, from 32h after the start of the LD, when cell proliferation increased. The signal formed, in transverse sections, a discontinuous ring with activation where last leaves were to be initiated. Interestingly, this activation in the SAM matched in time and space early growth changes previously described during the transition to flowering, namely an increase of leaf primordia growth and an acceleration of last leaf initiation (Bernier, 1997), suggesting that SaLFY may have dual functions in fate specification during the floral transition of the SAM. References: Bernier G 1997. J Exp Bot 48; 1071-1077. Melzer S, Kampmann G, Chandler J, Apel K 1999. Plant J 18; 395-405

Elaboration par coulage en bande et étude d'une cellule SOFC fonctionnant à 700C

Les travaux réalisés au cours de la thèse ont permis d'élaborer, par coulage en bande et co-frittage, une cellule SOFC plane fonctionnant à température intermédiaire (700C). La cellule est constituée des matériaux d'électrolyte (apatite La9Sr1Si6O26,5), de cathode (composite apatite/pérovskite La0,75Sr0,25Mn0,8Co0,2O3-x) et d'anode (cermet apatite-Ni). Le comportement en température de Télectrolyte est proche de celui des électrodes et 1*apatite présente une grande stabilité dimensionnelle dans une gamme de pression partielle d'oxygène variant de10-10 a 0,21 atm. La microstructure du matériau apatite a été contrôlée en établissant sa carte de frittage, à partir de laquelle les conditions optimales de frittage nécessaires à l'obtention d'une conductivité maximale ont été déterminées. La résistance de la cathode a été mesurée par spectroscopie d'impédance. Enfin, l'anode a été synthétisée par enrobage de particules nanométriques de Ni sur des particules submicroniques d'apatite.The aim of this study is to elaborate, by tape casting and co-sintering, an SOFC cell for low temperature applications (700C). New electrolyte (apatite La9Sr1Si6O26,5), cathode (composite apatite/perovskite La0,75Sr0,25Mn0,8Co0,2O3-x) and anode (apatite-Ni cermet) materials are used. The dimensional behaviour of the electrolyte material is close to the electrodes ones and is stable for an oxygen partial pressure ranging from 10-10 to 0.21 atm, from room temperature to 700C. The apatite microstructure was controlled by making its sintering map, from which the optimal sintering conditions leading to a large conductivity were found. The cathode resistance was measured by impedance spectroscopy. At last, the anode powder was synthesized by coating submicronic apatite particles by nanometric Ni particles.LIMOGES-BU Sciences (870852109) / SudocSudocFranceF

The zone of sympatry and hybridization of Mytilus edulis and M. galloprovincialis, as revealed by intron length polymorphism at locus mac-1

International audienceIntron-size variation at the actin gene locus mac-1 was used to characterise mussel, Mytilus spp., populations in the ~2000-km wide zone of contact and hybridization ('hybrid zone') between M. edulis and M. galloprovincialis in western Europe. Twenty-five samples were collected in 1995-1999 in locations within the hybrid zone and from reference populations of each species. We used correspondence analysis on the matrix of allelic frequencies to determine which alleles are characteristic of each species, and to characterise samples along the genetic gradient between M. edulis and M. galloprovincialis. In the hybrid zone, some samples exhibited mac-1 allele frequencies that were typical of M. edulis; other samples were distributed along the M. edulis / M. galloprovincialis gradient and displayed variable levels of intergradation that were not correlated with geography. Some of the latter samples exhibited significant heterozygote deficiencies. The simple admixture hypothesis (Wahlund effect) could not be rejected for two-fifths of the samples. The hybrid zone thus appeared as a mosaic of populations which are either pure M. edulis, or hybrid between M. galloprovincialis and M. edulis, or a mixture of the foregoing with M. galloprovincialis individuals. These results were consistent with published allozyme data, suggesting that they can be extended to the entire nuclear genome. M. edulis mac-1 alleles were present at moderate frequency in Atlantic M. galloprovincialis, and at significantly lower frequency in some Mediterranean samples. This pattern was homogenous over a broad geographic range within each basin. It was not evident that introgression of M. edulis into M. galloprovincialis presently occurs south of the zone of contact. We propose that the distinctness of the Atlantic M. galloprovincialis population results from past introgression by M. edulis alleles

Les glossodynies

La glossodynie est une affection relativement fréquente, bien connue et ô combien déroutante pour l'odontologiste qui ne sait ni comment la considérer, ni comment la traiter. Le patient glossodynique se reconnaît facilement tant son comportement et sa symptomatologie sont révélateurs et stéréotypés. Une composante psychologique est fréquemment associée. Différentes hypothèses étiopathogéniques pourraient expliquer l'origine des sensations de brûlures linguales. Une implication neuropathique est actuellement suggérée. La meilleure prise en charge associe une thérapeutique anti-dépressive à une psychothérapie. Le rôle de l'odontologiste sera de référer le patient au psychothérapeute, étape difficile passant par l'instauration d'une relation patient-praticien de qualité, facilitée par une approche globale du patient.NANTES-BU Médecine pharmacie (441092101) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocLILLE2-UFR Odontologie (593502202) / SudocNANTES-Bib.Odontologie (441092219) / SudocSudocFranceF

Liquid Water : When Hyperpolarizability Fluctuations Boost and Reshape the Second Harmonic Scattering Intensities

Second Harmonic Scattering (SHS) is a method of choice to investigate the molecular structure of liquids. While a clear interpretation of SHS intensity exists for diluted solutions of dyes, the scattering due to solvents remains difficult to interpret quantitatively. Here, we report a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) approach to model the polarization-resolved SHS intensity of liquid water, quantifying different contributions to the signal. We point out that the molecular hyperpolarizability fluctuations and correlations cannot be neglected. The intermolecular orientational and hyperpolarizability correlations up to the third solvation layer strongly increase the scattering intensities, and modulate the polarization-resolved oscillation that is predicted here by QM/MM without fitting parameters. Our approach can be generalized to other pure liquids to provide a quantitative interpretation of SHS intensities in terms of short-range molecular ordering