Experimental Investigation of a New High Temperature Heat Pump Using Water as Refrigerant for Industrial Heat Recovery

Currently, improving energy efficiency becomes a main challenge for all industrial energy systems. This challenge involves an improved recovery of wasted heat generated by several industrial processes. Large energy savings and potential environmental benefits are associated with the use of industrial heat pump mainly at high temperature levels. A laboratory flexible industrial scale heat recovery system is able to reproduce the operating conditions of real case simulating energetic losses and requirements in high temperature industrial applications. The integrated heat pump is an electrically-driven vapor compression using a twin screw compressor. Water vapor has been adopted as a working fluid using a modified screw compressor to carry out a dry compression process at high temperature levels. This heat pump generates vapor using flash evaporation. A purging valve is implemented in order to eliminate non-condensable gases present in system. Experimental simulation of the start-up phase has been presented showing the non-condensable purging process and the evolution of some parameters of the heat pump. Several scenarios of industrial processes for high-temperature heat recovery (heat sources between 80°C and 90°C) and heat upgrading are numerically simulated. The presented results show the global energy savings and the environmental benefits of using water as refrigerant at high temperature levels

Δ133p53α enhances metabolic and cellular fitness of TCR-engineered T cells and promotes superior antitumor immunity

Background Tumor microenvironment-associated T cell senescence is a key limiting factor for durable effective cancer immunotherapy. A few studies have demonstrated the critical role of the tumor suppressor TP53-derived p53 isoforms in cellular senescence process of non-immune cells. However, their role in lymphocytes, in particular tumor-antigen (TA) specific T cells remain largely unexplored.Methods Human T cells from peripheral blood were retrovirally engineered to coexpress a TA-specific T cell receptor and the Δ133p53α-isoform, and characterized for their cellular phenotype, metabolic profile and effector functions.Results Phenotypic analysis of Δ133p53α-modified T cells revealed a marked reduction of the T-cell inhibitory molecules (ie, CD160 and TIGIT), a lower frequency of senescent-like CD57+ and CD160+ CD8+ T cell populations, and an increased number of less differentiated CD28+ T cells. Consistently, we demonstrated changes in the cellular metabolic program toward a quiescent T cell state. On a functional level, Δ133p53α-expressing T cells acquired a long-term proliferative capacity, showed superior cytokine secretion and enhanced tumor-specific killing in vitro and in mouse tumor model. Finally, we demonstrated the capacity of Δ133p53α to restore the antitumor response of senescent T cells isolated from multiple myeloma patients.Conclusion This study uncovered a broad effect of Δ133p53α isoform in regulating T lymphocyte function. Enhancing fitness and effector functions of senescent T cells by modulation of p53 isoforms could be exploited for future translational research to improve cancer immunotherapy and immunosenescence-related diseases

Contribution du couplage CE-ICP/MS dans l'étude des interactions métals-protéine non-covalentes

Le criblage des interactions protéine/métal grâce à l utilisation du couplage CE-ICP/MS a été étudié. La mise au point de ce nouvel outil analytique nécessite, outre un interfaçage de ces deux techniques, ine séparation efficace des protéines et une détection sensible des métaux.L optimisation de la séparation électrophorétique d un mélange de protéines-test a conduit à l utilisation d un tampon borate à pH 9,2, qui minimise l adsorption et permet la séparation de toutes les protéines du mélange avec une bonne reproductibilité des temps de migration.L interfaçage entre l électrophorèse capillaire et l ICP/MS a été réalisé à l aide d une interface avec une solution conductrice. L optimisation des paramètres tels que débits des gaz, débit et composition de la solution conductrice et position du capillaire dans le micronébuliseur a été réalisée afin d obtenir les meilleures sensibilité de détection et efficacité de séparation.Toutefois, ce type d interface entraîne des dilutions importantes des échantillons, qui nous ont conduits à développer un système de préconcentration en ligne afin d améliorer les limites de détection. Le calcul des limites de détection réalisé sur le cuivre et le zinc contenus dans l anhydrase carbonique, protéine la moins efficacement concentrée, montre une amélioration des limites de détection en CE-ICP/MS de 6 fois pour le cuivre et 5 fois pour le zinc.Ce couplage a ensuite été utilisé dans l étude des interactions de trois métaux de transition (Cd, Co et Ni) avec un mélange de protéines constitué de métalloprotéines et protéines majeures du sérum sanguin.Ces études montrent un comportement similaire du cobalt et du nickel, différant totalement de celui du cadmium. Dans le cas des métalloprotéines, le couplage CE-ICP/MS permet également de conclure quant à la nature probable des sites d interaction. De plus, cette méthode a permis d étudier l affinité relative des différents métaux vis-à-vis du mélange de protéines.L aspect dissociatif du couplage a également été exploité pour obtenir des données cinétiques, permettant l accès aux constantes de dissociation des complexes et dans certains cas, à la mise en évidence de sites d interaction multiples.Enfin, la technique a été appliquée à des cations dits durs : lanthanides et uranyle (UO22+). Les premiers résultats démontrent une adsorption massive de ces cations à la surface des capillaires. Néanmoins, les études réalisées sur un mélange de six protéines, préalablement identifiées comme cibles de l uranium, montrent que quatre d entre elles interagissent avec l uranium, parmi lesquelles l albumine et la transferrine.The screening of metal/protein interactions using CE coupled to ICP/MS was investigated. The development of this new analytical tool requires, besides the hyphenation of the two techniques, both an efficient separation of the proteins and a sensitive detection of metals. The optimization of the electrophoretic separation of a protein-test mixture led to the use of a borate buffer, pH 9.2, which both minimizes adsorption and allows the separation of all proteins mixture with a good migration times reproducibility. The hyphenation between capillary electrophoresis and ICP/MS was performed using a sheath flow interface. The optimization of parameters, such as coolant, auxiliary and nebulizer gases, composition and flowrate of the sheath flow solution and position of the capillary in the nebulizer was carried out in order to obtain the best detection sensitivity and separation efficiency. However, this type of interface involves important samples dilutions, which led us to develop an on-line preconcentration technique in order to improve the detection limits. The detection limits calculated for the copper and zinc contained in the carbonic anhydrase, the less efficiently concentrated protein, showed an improvement of the detection limits in CE-ICP/MS of 6 times for copper and 5 times for zinc.CE-ICP/MS was then used in the study of the interactions of three transition metals (Cd, Co and Ni) with a mixture of proteins made of metalloproteins and major blood serum proteins. These studies revealed a similar behavior of cobalt and nickel, completely different from that of cadmium. In the case of the metalloproteins, hyphenated CE-ICP/MS allowed to identify the probable nature of the interaction sites. Moreover, this method allowed studies on the relative affinity of various metals with a mixture of proteins. The dissociative aspect of the separation was also exploited in order to obtain kinetic data which allowed the access to the dissociation constants of the complexes and in certain cases, highlighted the presence of multiple interaction sites.Finally, the technique was applied to so-called hard cations : lanthanides and uranyl ion (UO22+). The first results showed a massive adsorption of these cations on the capillaries surface. Nevertheless, the studies, carried out on a mixture of six proteins, previously identified as uranium-targets, showed that four of them interact with the uranium, among which albumin and transferrin.STRASBOURG-Sc. et Techniques (674822102) / SudocSudocFranceF

Unusual case of colonized pacemaker lead presenting with endocarditis, hemoptysis and tricuspid valve stenosis

The present report is the first to describe a case of hemoptysis caused by an endocardial pacemaker lead. In addition, the patient presented with endocarditis and tricuspid valve stenosis. Aggressive treatment consisted of surgical extraction of two pacemaker leads and one pacemaker battery, replacement of the tricuspid valve and implantation of a DDD-R epicardial pacemaker

Movement of the switch peptide of TnI in cardiac troponin - dipolar EPR and site-directed spin labeling

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Étude téléradiographique cranio-faciale de 221 enfants normaux de la région Midi-Pyrénées

Les auteurs établissent une comparaison statistique des mesures radiographiques des étages supérieur, moyen et inférieur des os du crâne et de la face de 221 enfants normaux de 3 à 15 ans, groupés en cinq tranches par âge osseux. Les valeurs céphalométriques correspondantes relevées dans la littérature sont établies en fonction de l'âge civil et ne sont pas applicables à toutes les populations en raison des variations ethniques et régionales. L'étude de ces mesures céphalométriques couramment utilisées en Orthopédie Dento-Faciale paraît intéressante également en pratique pédiatrique, essentiellement dans deux types d'affections : — les syndromes dysmorphiques de la face ; — les maladies endocriniennes où les hormones somatotropes et thyroïdiennes pourraient jouer un rôle spécifique dans la croissance des os du crâne et de la face. Il était donc nécessaire de pouvoir comparer des échantillons de populations semblables. Dans le cadre de ce travail, les auteurs ont noté une progression régulière des valeurs significativement différentes entre la première et la deuxième tranche d'âge et beaucoup moins pour les autres tranches d'âge

Myosin binding protein-C : enigmatic regulator of cardiac contraction

Myosin binding protein C (MyBPC) is a sarcomeric protein whose role in sarcomere structure and regulation of contraction is currently under investigation. It is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily and is found in the C-zone of the A-band of the sarcomere. The elongated structure of MyBPC is composed of a series of immunoglobulin and fibronectin domains, with the C-terminal domains binding to the myosin thick filament and the N-terminal domains interacting with the myosin subfragment-2 (S2) neck region and possibly the actin thin filament. The functions of MyBPC are to stabilise the sarcomere structure and to regulate contraction. When phosphorylated near its N-terminus, MyBPC no longer binds myosin-S2, causing an increase in the ordering of the myosin heads, ATPase activity, Fmax and Ca²⁺ sensitivity of contraction. Mutations in MyBPC have been found to cause familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (FHC) and changes in MyBPC phosphorylation have been linked to cardiac ischaemia-reperfusion injury.6 page(s