Fatal Enterovirus-related Myocarditis in a Patient with Devic’s Syndrome Treated with Rituximab

Enteroviruses are a frequent source of infection and among the most common central nervous system viral pathogens. Enteroviruses – in particular, the Coxsackie B viruses – are a known cause of myocarditis. Rituximab is a genetically engineered chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody. Many reports in the literature suggest a higher risk of infection following repeated rituximab therapy, including viral infection. However, observations of enterovirus-related myocarditis in the context of rituximab treatment are scarce. The authors describe the case of a patient with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder who developed severe and fatal enterovirus-related myocarditis after rituximab therapy with a difficult differential diagnosis of autoimmune or giant-cell myocarditis. This case highlights the importance of complete diagnostic workup in difficult cases of myocarditis, including endomyocardial biopsies

Effet de la compression et de l ajout d additifs sur l amélioration des performances d un accumulateur au plomb

Les travaux de cette thèse visent le développement d un accumulateur au plomb-acide aux propriétés améliorées en combinant l utilisation d additifs et la mise en compression des cellules. L utilisation d additifs poreux vise à favoriser la diffusion de l électrolyte au sein de la matière active positive et l utilisation d additifs de conductivité tend à optimiser le réseau de conduction des matériaux actifs. Le maintien de la cohésion des matières en cyclage est assuré par la mise en compression des électrodes. Dans cet objectif, un protocole de fabrication d électrodes positives a été développé au laboratoire. Un comportement de référence a ensuite été définit en déterminant les performances électriques et les caractéristiques des électrodes témoins soumises à des pressions allant de 0 à 1bar. Puis les effets des additifs ont été évalués lors d applications en compression. Notre but étant également une meilleure compréhension du système plomb-acide et du mode de fonctionnement des additifs, des mécanismes pour expliquer l évolution texturale des matériaux actifs positifs en compression et l interaction entre les additifs et l application d une pression ont été proposésPARIS-BIUSJ-Thèses (751052125) / SudocPARIS-BIUSJ-Physique recherche (751052113) / SudocSudocFranceF

Certified reference materials for breath alcohol control - the ALCOREF project

The Joint Research Project Alcoref “Certified forensic alcohol reference materials” is a multi-partner trans-national project within the targeted call “Research Potential” of the European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR) launched in 2016. The European Commission has estimated that about one quarter of road traffic deaths are due to alcohol. The European status report on road safety of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe therefore stated that, among other measures, better legislation and enforcement of alcohol control is needed in several countries. In particular, the report demands that unrestricted access to alcohol breath testing, using breath analysers of equivalent and agreed standard, should be implemented throughout Europe. These high standards for tests, verification and calibration of breath alcohol analysers should meet some requirements of the recommendation R 126 defined by the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) and European standards (EN 16280 and EN 15964). The specific objective of this project is to establish regional research and metrological capacity for the development of certified forensic alcohol reference materials for the law enforcement of drink-driving regulations

Interaction of 15 priority substances for water monitoring at ng L-1 levels with glass-, aluminium- and fluorinated polyethylene bottles for the containment of water reference materials

Certified water reference materials (CRMs) are currently not available for most of the hydrophobic organic pollutants listed in the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). To find the most suitable container type for subsequent reference material productions, feasibility studies for the preparation of waters with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and tributyltin (TBT) close to Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) in water have been performed. Due to the hydrophobic nature of these compounds and their tendency to adsorb onto container-walls, an adequate selection of the most appropriate material for containment, storage and transport of water reference materials is crucial. Three different materials (aluminium, amber glass and fluorinated polyethylene, FPE) and three volume ranges (500/600 mL, 1000/1200 mL and 2000/3000 mL) were tested at ng L-1 level of the target compounds. FPE shows by far the highest loss of analytes due to adsorption onto the container walls for all compounds studied. Aluminium and glass are equally suited for PAHs and PBDEs, but aluminium is unsuitable as container material for TBT due to acid cleaning requirements. The volume of the containers had no dramatic effect on the adsorption behaviour of target compounds for the different volumes tested.JRC.D.2-Standards for Innovation and sustainable Developmen

Novel concepts for preparation of reference materials as whole water samples for priority substances at nanogram-per- liter level using model suspended particulate matter and humic acids

One of the unresolved issues of the European Water Framework Directive is the unavailability of realistic water reference materials for the organic priority pollutants at low ng L-1 concentrations. In the present study three different types of ready-to-use water test materials were developed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), poly brominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and tributyltin (TBT) at ng L-1 levels. The first type simulated the dissolved phase in the water and comprised of a solution of humic acids (HA) at 5 mg/L dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and a spike of the target compounds. The second type of water sample incorporated the particulate phase in water. To this end model suspended particulate matter (SPM) with a realistic particle size was produced by jet milling soil and sediments containing known amounts of PAHs, PBDEs and TBT and added as slurry to mineral water. The most complex test materials mimicked “whole water” consequently containing both phases, the model SPM and the HA solution with the target analytes strongly bound to the SPM. In this paper the development of concepts, processing of the starting materials, characterization of the HA and model SPMs as well as results for homogeneity and stability testing of the ready-to-use test materials are described in detail.JRC.D.2-Standards for Innovation and sustainable Developmen

An interlaboratory comparison on whole water samples

The European Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC requires monitoring of organic priority pollutants in so called “whole water” samples, i.e. in aqueous non-filtered samples that contain natural colloidal and suspended particulate matter. Colloids and suspended particles in the liquid phase constitute a challenge for sample homogeneity and stability. Within the joint research project ENV08 “Traceable measurements for monitoring critical pollutants under the European Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC” whole water test materials were developed by spiking defined amounts of aqueous slurries of ultra-finely milled contaminated soil or sediment and aqueous solutions of humic acid into a natural mineral water matrix. This paper presents the results of an European-wide interlaboratory comparison (ILC) using this type of test materials. Target analytes were tributyl tin, polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the ng/L concentration range. Results of the ILC indicate that the produced materials are sufficiently homogeneous and stable to serve as samples for e.g. proficiency testing or method validation. To our knowledge, this is the first time that ready to use water materials with a defined amount of suspended particulate and colloidal matter have been applied as test samples in an interlaboratory exercise. These samples meet the requirements of the European Water Framework Directive. Previous proficiency testing schemes mainly employed filtered water samples fortified with a spike of the target analyte in a water-miscible organic solvent.JRC.D.2-Standards for Innovation and sustainable Developmen

Final report on key comparison CCQM-K55.c (L-(+)-Valine): Characterization of organic substances for chemical purity

Under the auspices of the Organic Analysis Working Group (OAWG) of the Comité Consultatif pour la Quantité de Matière (CCQM) a key comparison, CCQM K55.c, was coordinated by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) in 2012. Twenty National Measurement Institutes or Designated Institutes and the BIPM participated. Participants were required to assign the mass fraction of valine present as the main component in the comparison sample for CCQM-K55.c. The comparison samples were prepared from analytical grade L-valine purchased from a commercial supplier and used as provided without further treatment or purification. Valine was selected to be representative of the performance of a laboratory's measurement capability for the purity assignment of organic compounds of low structural complexity [molecular weight range 100–300] and high polarity (pKOW > −2). The KCRV for the valine content of the material was 992.0 mg/g with a combined standard uncertainty of 0.3 mg/g. The key comparison reference value (KCRV) was assigned by combination of KCRVs assigned from participant results for each orthogonal impurity class. The relative expanded uncertainties reported by laboratories having results consistent with the KCRV ranged from 1 mg/g to 6 mg/g when using mass balance based approaches alone, 2 mg/g to 7 mg/g using quantitative 1H NMR (qNMR) based approaches and from 1 mg/g to 2.5 mg/g when a result obtained by a mass balance method was combined with a separate qNMR result. The material provided several analytical challenges. In addition to the need to identify and quantify various related amino acid impurities including leucine, isoleucine, alanine and α-amino butyrate, care was required to select appropriate conditions for performing Karl Fischer titration assay for water content to avoid bias due to in situ formation of water by self-condensation under the assay conditions. It also proved to be a challenging compound for purity assignment by qNMR techniques. There was overall excellent agreement between participants in the identification and the quantification of the total and individual related structure impurities, water content, residual solvent and total non-volatile content of the sample. Appropriate technical justifications were developed to rationalise observed discrepancies in the limited cases where methodology differences led to inconsistent results. The comparison demonstrated that to perform a qNMR purity assignment the selection of appropriate parameters and an understanding of their potential influence on the assigned value is critical for reliable implementation of the method, particularly when one or more of the peaks to be quantified consist of complex multiplet signals.JRC.D.2-Standards for Innovation and sustainable Developmen