Membrane Reactor Based on Hybrid Nanomaterials for Process Intensification of Catalytic Hydrogenation Reaction: an Example of Reduction of the Environmental Footprint of Chemical Synthesis from a Batch to a Continuous Flow Chemistry Process

Membrane processes represent a well matured technology for water treatment with low environmental footprints compared to other type of processes. We have now combined this technology with nanomaterials, ionic liquids (negligible vapor pressure), and poly(ionic liquids) in order to enlarge the field of applications while benefiting from the advantages of membranes. We have modified flat sheet water filtration membrane and used it as both catalytic support and reactor with the advantages to make the reaction and the separation of products in only one step. For this purpose, catalytic metallic nanoparticles of palladium (diameter of ca. 2 nm) were synthesized in a gel-poly(ionic liquid) layer grafted at the surface of polymeric filtration membranes by UV-photografting method. The so obtained catalytic membrane was successfully applied in the hydrogenation of trans-4-phenyl-3-buten-2-one in forced flow-through configuration, which gave full conversion in a few seconds (2.6 s) showing advantages over the batch reactor process (in that case, palladium nanoparticles were synthesized in the ionic liquid [MMPIM][NTf2] (1,2-dimethyl-3-propylimidazolium bis-(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide)). Nevertheless, the catalytic membrane used in submerged mode no more prevailed over the batch reactor. Catalytic nanoparticles remain highly active in the membrane after 12 cycles of reaction without need of recuperation. Results were compared to one obtains with a similar system in batch reactor conditions, showing high efficiency of our process in term of selectivity and reactivity, combined to an important compactness, the productivity of the catalytic hollow fiber membrane reactor and permitting to operate at larger scale with promising results in an environmental friendly way in term of energy and product (metal, solvent) consuming

High catalytic efficiency of palladium nanoparticles immobilized in a polymer membrane containing poly(ionic liquid) in Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction

The elaboration of a polymeric catalytic membrane containing palladium nanoparticles is presented. The membrane was prepared using a photo-grafting process with imidazolium-based ionic liquid monomers as modifying agent and microPES® as support membrane. Ionic liquid serves as a stabilizer and immobilizer for the catalytic species, i.e. palladium nanoparticles. The Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction was carried out on the catalytic membrane in flow-through configuration. Complete conversion was achieved in 10 s through one single filtration, without formation of byproducts. The apparent reaction rate constant was three orders of magnitude greater than in a batch reactor. No catalyst leaching was detected. This membrane offers the possibility of continuous production with no need for a separation step of the catalyst from the reaction medium

A glimpse into the early origins of medieval anatomy through the oldest conserved human dissection (Western Europe, 13^th c. A.D.)

INTRODUCTION: Medieval autopsy practice is very poorly known in Western Europe, due to a lack of both descriptive medico-surgical texts and conserved dissected human remains. This period is currently considered the dark ages according to a common belief of systematic opposition of Christian religious authorities to the opening of human cadavers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The identification in a private collection of an autopsied human individual dated from the 13(th) century A.D. is an opportunity for better knowledge of such practice in this chrono-cultural context, i.e. the early origins of occidental dissections. A complete forensic anthropological procedure was carried out, completed by radiological and elemental analyses. RESULTS: The complete procedure of this body opening and internal organs exploration is explained, and compared with historical data about forensic and anatomical autopsies from this period. During the analysis, a red substance filling all arterial cavities, made of mercury sulfide (cinnabar) mixed with vegetal oil (oleic and palmitic acids) was identified; it was presumably used to highlight vascularization by coloring in red such vessels, and help in the preservation of the body. CONCLUSIONS: Of particular interest for the description of early medical and anatomical knowledge, this “human preparation” is the oldest known yet, and is particularly important for the fields of history of medicine, surgery and anatomical practice

Pandemic Influenza Due to pH1N1/2009 Virus: Estimation of Infection Burden in Reunion Island through a Prospective Serosurvey, Austral Winter 2009

International audienceBACKGROUND: To date, there is little information that reflects the true extent of spread of the pH1N1/2009v influenza pandemic at the community level as infection often results in mild or no clinical symptoms. This study aimed at assessing through a prospective study, the attack rate of pH1N1/2009 virus in Reunion Island and risk factors of infection, during the 2009 season.METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A serosurvey was conducted during the 2009 austral winter, in the frame of a prospective population study. Pairs of sera were collected from 1687 individuals belonging to 772 households, during and after passage of the pandemic wave. Antibodies to pH1N1/2009v were titered using the hemagglutination inhibition assay (HIA) with titers ≥ 1/40 being considered positive. Seroprevalence during the first two weeks of detection of pH1N1/2009v in Reunion Island was 29.8% in people under 20 years of age, 35.6% in adults (20-59 years) and 73.3% in the elderly (≥ 60 years) (P<0.0001). Baseline corrected cumulative incidence rates, were 42.9%, 13.9% and 0% in these age groups respectively (P<0.0001). A significant decline in antibody titers occurred soon after the passage of the epidemic wave. Seroconversion rates to pH1N1/2009 correlated negatively with age: 63.2%, 39.4% and 16.7%, in each age group respectively (P<0.0001). Seroconversion occurred in 65.2% of individuals who were seronegative at inclusion compared to 6.8% in those who were initially seropositive.CONCLUSIONS: Seroincidence of pH1N1/2009v infection was three times that estimated from clinical surveillance, indicating that almost two thirds of infections occurring at the community level have escaped medical detection. People under 20 years of age were the most affected group. Pre-epidemic titers ≥ 1/40 prevented seroconversion and are likely protective against infection. A concern was raised about the long term stability of the antibody responses

Analysis of 339 pregnancies in 181 women with 13 different forms of inherited thrombocytopenia

65Pregnancy in women with inherited thrombocytopenias is a major matter of concern as both the mothers and the newborns are potentially at risk of bleeding. However, medical management of this condition cannot be based on evidence because of the lack of consistent information in the literature. To advance knowledge on this matter, we performed a multicentric, retrospective study evaluating 339 pregnancies in 181 women with 13 different forms of inherited thrombocytopenia. Neither the degree of thrombocytopenia nor the severity of bleeding tendency worsened during pregnancy and the course of pregnancy did not differ from that of healthy subjects in terms of miscarriages, fetal bleeding and pre-term births. The degree of thrombocytopenia in the babies was similar to that in the mother. Only 7 of 156 affected newborns had delivery-related bleeding, but 2 of them died of cerebral hemorrhage. The frequency of delivery-related maternal bleeding ranged from 6.8% to 14.2% depending on the definition of abnormal blood loss, suggesting that the risk of abnormal blood loss was increased with respect to the general population. However, no mother died or had to undergo hysterectomy to arrest bleeding. The search for parameters predicting delivery-related bleeding in the mother suggested that hemorrhages requiring blood transfusion were more frequent in women with history of severe bleedings before pregnancy and with platelet count at delivery below 50 × 10(9)/L.openopenPatrizia Noris; Nicole Schlegel; Catherine Klersy; Paula G. Heller; Elisa Civaschi; Nuria Pujol-Moix; Fabrizio Fabris; Remi Favier; Paolo Gresele; Véronique Latger-Cannard; Adam Cuker; Paquita Nurden; Andreas Greinacher; Marco Cattaneo; Erica De Candia; Alessandro Pecci; Marie-Françoise Hurtaud-Roux; Ana C. Glembotsky; Eduardo Muñiz-Diaz; Maria Luigia Randi; Nathalie Trillot; Loredana Bury; Thomas Lecompte; Caterina Marconi; Anna Savoia; Carlo L. Balduini; Sophie Bayart; Anne Bauters; Schéhérazade Benabdallah-Guedira; Françoise Boehlen; Jeanne-Yvonne Borg; Roberta Bottega; James Bussel; Daniela De Rocco; Emmanuel de Maistre; Michela Faleschini; Emanuela Falcinelli; Silvia Ferrari; Alina Ferster; Tiziana Fierro; Dominique Fleury; Pierre Fontana; Chloé James; Francois Lanza; Véronique Le Cam Duchez; Giuseppe Loffredo; Pamela Magini; Dominique Martin-Coignard; Fanny Menard; Sandra Mercier; Annamaria Mezzasoma; Pietro Minuz; Ilaria Nichele; Lucia D. Notarangelo; Tommaso Pippucci; Gian Marco Podda; Catherine Pouymayou; Agnes Rigouzzo; Bruno Royer; Pierre Sie; Virginie Siguret; Catherine Trichet; Alessandra Tucci; Béatrice Saposnik; Dino VeneriPatrizia, Noris; Nicole, Schlegel; Catherine, Klersy; Paula G., Heller; Elisa, Civaschi; Nuria Pujol, Moix; Fabrizio, Fabris; Remi, Favier; Paolo, Gresele; Véronique Latger, Cannard; Adam, Cuker; Paquita, Nurden; Andreas, Greinacher; Marco, Cattaneo; Erica De, Candia; Alessandro, Pecci; Marie Françoise Hurtaud, Roux; Ana C., Glembotsky; Eduardo Muñiz, Diaz; Maria Luigia, Randi; Nathalie, Trillot; Loredana, Bury; Thomas, Lecompte; Caterina, Marconi; Savoia, Anna; Carlo L., Balduini; Sophie, Bayart; Anne, Bauters; Schéhérazade Benabdallah, Guedira; Françoise, Boehlen; Jeanne Yvonne, Borg; Bottega, Roberta; James, Bussel; DE ROCCO, Daniela; Emmanuel de, Maistre; Faleschini, Michela; Emanuela, Falcinelli; Silvia, Ferrari; Alina, Ferster; Tiziana, Fierro; Dominique, Fleury; Pierre, Fontana; Chloé, James; Francois, Lanza; Véronique Le Cam, Duchez; Giuseppe, Loffredo; Pamela, Magini; Dominique Martin, Coignard; Fanny, Menard; Sandra, Mercier; Annamaria, Mezzasoma; Pietro, Minuz; Ilaria, Nichele; Lucia D., Notarangelo; Tommaso, Pippucci; Gian Marco, Podda; Catherine, Pouymayou; Agnes, Rigouzzo; Bruno, Royer; Pierre, Sie; Virginie, Siguret; Catherine, Trichet; Alessandra, Tucci; Béatrice, Saposnik; Dino, Vener

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

Risque et décision en ingénierie paravalanche

National audienceContents of the presentation : A few words about snow avalanches ; Avalanche risk in the (French) Alpine space ; Avalanche risk mitigation ; Reference hazards in the snow and avalanche field ; Return period based approaches are insufficient ; Risk and optimal design approaches ; Engineering example: assessment of defense structures efficiency ; Critical assumption: neglecting hazard variability ; Risk in the context of natural hazards ; Long term stochastic avalanche models ; The alternative: statistical-numerical (physical) modelling ; Vulnerability relations ; Evaluating fragility curves; Fragility curves ; Application to risk mapping and zoning ; Risk sensitivity ; The decisional setting ; Applications and limits in the snow avalanche field ; Optimal design of an avalanche dam ; Model for the dam effects ; Damage formulation ; Simplified POT model of avalanche hazard ; Risk and residual risk ; Optimal design ; Sensitivity to runout distribution ; Risk seen as an integrated measure ; Reference scenario and uncertainty ; Calibration, parameter uncertainty and Bayesian risk ; "Real" application ; Decisional sensitivity analyses ; Sensitivity to the vulnerability (damage) formulation