Current achievements and future research directions in ovarian tissue culture, in vitro follicle development and transplantation: implications for fertility preservation

Female cancer patients are offered 'banking' of gametes before starting fertility-threatening cancer therapy. Transplants of fresh and frozen ovarian tissue between healthy fertile and infertile women have demonstrated the utility of the tissue banked for restoration of endocrine and fertility function. Additional methods, like follicle culture and isolated follicle transplantation, are in development. Specialist reproductive medicine scientists and clinicians with complementary expertise in ovarian tissue culture and transplantation presented relevant published literature in their field of expertise and also unpublished promising data for discussion. As the major aims were to identify the current gaps prohibiting advancement, to share technical experience and to orient new research, contributors were allowed to provide their opinioned expert views on future research. Normal healthy children have been born in cancer survivors after orthotopic transplantation of their cryopreserved ovarian tissue. Longevity of the graft might be optimized by using new vitrification techniques and by promoting rapid revascularization of the graft. For the in vitro culture of follicles, a successive battery of culture methods including the use of defined media, growth factors and three-dimensional extracellular matrix support might overcome growth arrest of the follicles. Molecular methods and immunoassay can evaluate stage of maturation and guide adequate differentiation. Large animals, including non-human primates, are essential working models. Experiments on ovarian tissue from non-human primate models and from consenting fertile and infertile patients benefit from a multidisciplinary approach. The new discipline of oncofertility requires professionalization, multidisciplinarity and mobilization of funding for basic and translational research

Roadmap on energy harvesting materials

Ambient energy harvesting has great potential to contribute to sustainable development and address growing environmental challenges. Converting waste energy from energy-intensive processes and systems (e.g. combustion engines and furnaces) is crucial to reducing their environmental impact and achieving net-zero emissions. Compact energy harvesters will also be key to powering the exponentially growing smart devices ecosystem that is part of the Internet of Things, thus enabling futuristic applications that can improve our quality of life (e.g. smart homes, smart cities, smart manufacturing, and smart healthcare). To achieve these goals, innovative materials are needed to efficiently convert ambient energy into electricity through various physical mechanisms, such as the photovoltaic effect, thermoelectricity, piezoelectricity, triboelectricity, and radiofrequency wireless power transfer. By bringing together the perspectives of experts in various types of energy harvesting materials, this Roadmap provides extensive insights into recent advances and present challenges in the field. Additionally, the Roadmap analyses the key performance metrics of these technologies in relation to their ultimate energy conversion limits. Building on these insights, the Roadmap outlines promising directions for future research to fully harness the potential of energy harvesting materials for green energy anytime, anywhere

A key to wine conservation lies in the glass–cork interface

International audienceThis study investigates the evolution of the oxygen barrier properties of the bottleneck–stopper system under conditions simulating the conservation of wine in the bottle (presence of model wine, storage position, and temperature) over a long aging period of 24 months. The results highlighted that the oxygen diffusion coefficient of the stopper alone is not modified regardless of the storage conditions. At 20°C, the presence of model wine favors oxygen transfer at the glass–cork interface, accounting for nearly 75% of total oxygen transfer in comparison to cork studied without model wine. Yet, the position of the bottle during storage, vertical (i.e. cork in contact with the vapor phase of the model wine) or horizontal (i.e. cork in contact with the liquid phase), does not influence the oxygen transfer. At higher storage temperatures (35 and 50°C), the barrier properties of the bottleneck–cork system remain stable up to 9 and 3 months, respectively. After this period, an alteration of the barrier properties is observed with an increase of the transfer at the glass–cork interface

L’interface bouchon/goulot : Un élément clé de la conservation du vin en bouteille

National audienceLe liège est un matériau versatile utilisé depuis plusieurs siècles pour ses propriétés remarquables telles que son élasticité, sa faible perméabilité aux liquides et aux gaz ou encore son imputrescibilité. À ce jour, la majeure partie de la production mondiale du liège (environ 73 %) est destinée à l’industrie vitivinicole pour la fabrication de bouchons à base de liège. Si le marché des obturateurs œnologiques a longtemps été dominé par les bouchons en liège naturel, différentes technologies de bouchage se sont progressivement développées, comme les capsules à vis, les bouchons synthétiques ou encore les bouchons agglomérés

Caractérisation de la structure poreuse du liège par imagerie. Voyage au cœur du bouchon

National audienceLe liège est un matériau provenant de la partie externe de l’écorce du chêne liège. Ce matériau est le plus utilisé pour le bouchage de plus de deux tiers des bouteilles de vins, en particulier ceux de longue garde. Les bouchons en liège sont classés visuellement en différentes catégories en fonction de leurs défauts apparents. Moins il y a de lenticelles en surface, plus le liège est considéré de qualité élevée.L’objectif de cette étude était d’identifier et de quantifier les défauts de deux catégories de bouchons de liège selon deux approches : en analysant sa surface par photographie optique ou bien en volume par imagerie de neutrons ou de rayons X.Les photographies ont permis de quantifier les défauts présents à la surface des bouchons. Le grade 0 (la meilleure qualité de liège) a présenté 4,1 % de défauts alors que le grade 4 en a compté 6,7 %. L’imagerie neutrons (ou rayons X) a permis de quantifier non seulement les défauts présents à la surface mais aussi ceux à l’intérieur du matériau, invisibles à l’œil nu. Cette technique a permis de comptabiliser 5,4 % de défauts en volume pour le grade 0 et 6,5 % pour le grade 4

Diffusion of small molecules in edible films: Effect of water and interactions between diffusant and biopolymer

International audienc

Mechanical Properties of Cork : Effect of Hydration

International audienceThe use of cork as sealing for wine bottles is due to its low permeability to liquids and gases, imputrescibility and good mechanical properties, in particular its remarkable elasticity [1]. We focused in this study on the compression properties of cork along the radial or the tangential direction at 298 K when cork is stored under various relative humidity environments, from 0 to 100 %. All stress-strain curves were characterized by an elastic region up to approximately 5 % strain, followed by a large plateau up to 60 % strain caused by the progressive buckling of cell walls.Firstly, it is worthy to note that the direction of compression significantly affects the Young modulus, with a higher value in radial compression, as already reported by Anjos and Pereira [2,3]. This corresponds to the orientation of the lenticels, which reinforces the rigidity of the material when the strain is applied along their growth direction.More surprising is the effect of water sorption in cork on its mechanical properties. Both radial and tangential direction exhibit the same behavior, characterized by an increase in the Young modulus up to around 50 % relative humidity and followed by a decrease in rigidity. Maximum observed values are 46.9±8.1 MPa and 22.1±2.0 MPa for radial and tangential directions, respectively. Below that point, the increase in water content leads an antiplasticizing effect while above it gives a more classical plasticizing effect. This is in favor of the existence of an amorphous fraction in cork which goes across the glass transition in this relative humidity range. 1. Mano, J.F. 2002. The viscoelastic properties of cork. Journal of Membrane Science. 37(2), 257-263.2. Anjos, O., Pereira, H., Rosa, M.E. 2008. Effect of quality, porosity and density on the compression properties of cork. European Journal of Wood and Wood Products. 66(4), 295-301.3. Pereira, H., Graca, J., Baptista, C. 1992. The effect of growth-rate on the structure and compressive properties of cork. Iawa Bulletin? 13(4), 389-396

How does hydration affect the mechanical properties of wine stoppers ?

International audienceData related to the comparison of the mechanical properties of the different stoppers used in the wine industry are scarce. This study aims at comparing the effect of hydration (from 0 to 100 % relative humidity at 25 A degrees C) on the mechanical properties of four widely used types of stoppers: natural corks, agglomerated corks, technical stoppers and synthetic (co-extruded) stoppers. For both natural and agglomerated corks, the Young's modulus was significantly and similarly affected by hydration, with a constant plateau value up to 50 % relative humidity (RH) and a mean value around 22 and 14 MPa, respectively. For higher RH, the increase in water content leads to a decrease in the material rigidity (Young's modulus < 10 MPa), which is attributed to water clusters formation between polymer chains. Technical stoppers revealed a similar profile, but with a much smaller impact of the water content and with overall lower Young's moduli values, around 5 MPa, throughout the RH range. The stiffness of synthetic closures was not affected by hydration, in agreement with the hydrophobic behavior of polyethylene. Differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis allowed us to identify a glass transition temperature (T (g)) in cork (around 0 A degrees C), and another one in agglomerated cork and technical stoppers (close to -45 A degrees C, corresponding to additives). All together, for the first time the data highlight the comparative mechanical properties of such materials of the wine industry, and the progressive loss of the "cork-like" behavior of cork composites when other components are mixed with cork

About the role of the bottleneck/cork interface on O2 transfer

International audienc