A revised list of Brazilian scleractinian corals and description of a new species

During the course of a three year sojourn at the Oceanographic Institute of the University of Recife a restudy of the reef corals of the Brazilian coast was undertaken…

Plan de actuación para incrementar la cohesión en el aula

Máster Universitario en Formación del Profesorado de ESO, Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y Enseñanza de Idiomas. Especialidad en Orientación Educativa (M089

Effets des sécrétomes de Staphylococcus aureus et Staphylococcus epidermidis du microbiote cutané d'enfants atopiques sur la réponse immunitaire T CD4

La dermatite atopique (DA) est une maladie inflammatoire et prurigineuse de la peau, très fréquente chez les enfants et dont la prévalence augmente dans les pays industrialisés. La physiopathologie complexe de cette maladie met en jeu un défaut de la barrière cutanée et/ou des défauts génétiques résultant en une hypersensibilité aux allergènes de l'environnement tels que ceux issus d'acariens. Récemment, des études sur les interactions entre le système immunitaire et les bactéries commensales et pathogènes de la peau ont révélé leur importance dans cette maladie. Pour étudier le rôle du microbiote cutané dans la réponse T CD4+, des cohortes de jeunes enfants, atteints de DA et sensibilisés aux allergènes d'acariens (Der p) ou non DA (population contrôle), ont été recrutées. L'analyse du microbiote (MALDI-TOF) et du profil transcriptomique cutanés, ainsi que la quantification des T CD4+ anti-Derp (ELISpot) ont montré que la présence de S. aureus sur la peau inflammatoire des sujets AD était associée à des taux élevés d'IgE, des transcrits caractéristiques d'une orientation Th2/Th22 et à une réponse périphérique Th2. Des cellules dendritiques dérivées de monocytes (moDC) de donneurs sains produisent respectivement de l'IFN-gamma et de l'IL-10 en présence de sécrétomes issus de souches de S. aureus et S. epidermidis provenant de patients. La prolifération de lymphocytes T CD4+ stimulés avec des moDC allogéniques traitées avec le sécrétome de S. aureus est atténuée par le traitement simultané des moDC avec le sécrétome de S. epidermidis. Les sécrétomes de S. aureus sont capables d'inhiber directement l'activité suppressive de lymphocytes T régulateurs en l'absence de cellule présentatrice d'antigène. L'ensemble de nos résultats nous permet de penser que S. aureus est un facteur pro-inflammatoire de la DA en exacerbant la prolifération de lymphocytes Th2 résidents et en inhibant la fonction des lymphocytes T régulateurs. Favoriser les effets anti-inflammatoires des bactéries commensales telles que S. epidermidis liés à l'induction d'une sécrétion d'IL-10 par les cellules dendritiques de la peau pourrait bénéficier aux patients atteints de DA.Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an inflammatory and pruritic skin disease frequently affecting children. Its prevalence is increasing in industrialized countries. Its complex pathophysiology involves a skin barrier dysfunction and/or genetic abnormalities leading to sensitivity to environmental allergens such as house dust mites. Interactions between the immune system and skin bacteria, pathogens and commensals, appeared to be important in the disease. To study the influence of skin microbiota in the CD4+ T cell response, we designed a cohort of young AD children sensitized to house dust mite allergens (Der p) and their counterparts (controls). Analysis of skin microbiota (MALDI-TOF), transcripts profiling and quantification of anti-Der p CD4+ T cells showed that the presence of S. aureus on inflamed skin of AD subjects was associated with high IgE levels, Th2/Th22 transcripts and peripheral Th2 anti-Der p response. Monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDC) were exposed to secretomes produced by S. aureus and S. epidermidis strains isolated from patients and released IFN-gamma and IL-10 respectively. Proliferation of CD4+ T cells induced by allogeneic moDC exposed to S. aureus secretome was blunted by concurrent exposure of moDC to S. epidermidis secretome. Regulatory T cells (Treg) lost their activity against conventional CD4+ T cells under the direct effect of S. aureus secretome. Overall, these results allow us to think that S. aureus is an important factor of the AD inflammation by inducing Th2 activation and silencing resident Treg. Commensals such as S. epidermidis could be used to counteract these effects by inducing IL-10 production by skin DC

La Catedral de Conca: l'estudi de les restauracions realitzades fins a l'actualitat

[ES] La Catedral de Cuenca, de estilo gótico en la actualidad, se ha visto modificada numerosas veces a lo largo de los siglos. Situada en el casco histórico de la ciudad, es un edificio emblemático que ha sido objeto de restauraciones conocidas e importantes. Se quiere desarrollar una investigación sobre las diferentes fases de restauración que se han realizado en la Catedral de Cuenca, desde que fue construida hasta la actualidad, para poner en relación la teoría con la práctica de la restauración en el contexto español. Durante este proceso, se estudiará la historia de la catedral y la historia de sus restauraciones, desde las más conocidas hasta las realizadas en los últimos años, haciendo mayor hincapié en el trabajo llevado a cabo a principios del siglo XX por uno de los representantes de la Escuela Restauradora, Vicente Lampérez y Romea. El objetivo será comprobar cómo sus ideas y la de los distintos restauradores que han intervenido se reflejan en las acciones realizadas sobre el edificio. La investigación comenzará con la recopilación de documentación, en la medida de lo posible, procedente de fuentes originales. Este trabajo de revisión se complementará con el estudio detallado del edificio y con la información dada por los trabajadores a cargo de la conservación de la catedral hoy en día. El propósito será conocer en profundidad la historia del edificio y la de sus restauraciones, viendo qué criterios siguieron y de qué manera se pusieron en práctica. El análisis se centrará, especialmente, en las obras dirigidas por Vicente Lámperez y que han marcado la estética de la catedral en la actualidad. Se espera que este trabajo contribuya a ampliar el conocimiento que se tiene sobre este emblemático edificio, sobre sus intervenciones y sobre la teoría restauradora de Vicente Lampérez. Se pretende, finalmente, que este conocimiento pueda ser útil para la puesta en valor y la conservación que se hace actualmente del edificio.[EN] Cuenca Cathedral, now Gothic in style, has been modified numerous times over the centuries. Located in the historic centre of the city, it is an emblematic building that has been the object of well-known and important restorations. The aim is to carry out research into the different phases of restoration that have been carried out on Cuenca Cathedral, from the time it was built until the present day, in order to relate the theory and practice of restoration in the Spanish context. During this process, the history of the cathedral and the history of its restorations will be studied, from the best known to those carried out in recent years, with particular emphasis on the work carried out at the beginning of the 20th century by one of the representatives of the Restoration School, Vicente Lampérez y Romea. The aim will be to see how his ideas and those of the various restorers who have intervened are reflected in the actions carried out on the building. The research will begin with the compilation of documentation, as far as possible, from original sources. This review work will be complemented with the detailed study of the building and with the information given by the workers in charge of the conservation of the cathedral today. The purpose will be to gain an in-depth knowledge of the history of the building and that of its restorations, seeing what criteria they followed and how they were put into practice. The analysis will focus especially on the works directed by Vicente Lámperez that have marked the aesthetics of the cathedral today. It is hoped that this work will contribute to broadening our knowledge of this emblematic building, of his interventions and of Vicente Lampérez's theory of restoration. Finally, it is hoped that this knowledge may be useful for the current enhancement and conservation of the building.Laborel Ibáñez, A. (2022). La Catedral de Cuenca: el estudio de las restauraciones realizadas hasta la actualidad. Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/19094

Manufacture and characterisation of prototype straw bale insulation products

This paper presents the development and characterisation of prototype wheat straw bales that have been produced specifically for use as a building insulation material. The use of straw bales still remains niche in the wider construction market. Whilst traditional straw bales can be used for either loadbearing or non-loadbearing applications, it is their thermal resistance that is of greatest benefit to building performance. There is great potential to significantly improve the thermal resistance and mechanical performance of straw bales for construction by reconfiguring the baling process to orientate the straws preferentially, and also produce bales sizes more suited for contemporary construction practices. Laboratory scale baling equipment has been developed to produce prototype bales with straws optimally orientated for thermal resistance. In a novel study Computer Tomography has been applied to investigate the internal structure and orientation of agricultural and prototype straw bales. The mechanical properties and thermal conductivity performance of novel straw bales are characterised. Changing orientation of the individual straws can improve thermal resistance by up to 28%, facilitating thinner walls, and enabling greater uptake of a novel low embodied carbon bio-based material into mainstream construction.</p

Manufacture and characterisation of prototype straw bale insulation products

International audienc

Assessment of durability of biobased earth composites

Bio-based earth composites present various environmental benefits, such as usable wastes, coproducts, abundant or renewable materials, etc. Moreover, the incorporation of bioaggregates in the earth matrix allows the buildings to act as an effective carbon sink. A growing number of studies are now focusing on the mechanical and hygrothermal properties of bio-based earth building materials. However, the durability of these types of material is a major concern, and knowledge of their various aspects is essential to anticipate maintenance and sustain the performance levels. Here, the durability of compressed earth composites, valorizing discarded earth containing 3% of barley straw, hemp shiv, or rice husk, is investigated. Due to the lack of internationally recognized standards to assess the durability of earthen materials and products, we proposed some testing procedures and discussed their relevance. The addition of these three bioaggregates decreases stiffness, as estimated by ultrasound velocity, and improves the resistance to impact and erosion by water. However, water absorption under low pressure is increased, and dry abrasion resistance is decreased. Moreover, the rice husk composite presents the best compromise.publishersversionpublishe

Potential of X-ray tomography for the exploration of vegetal concretes’ porous structure

International audienceVegetal concretes offer promising perspectives as building materials thanks to their low environmental impact and interesting hygrothermal behavior. Their insulating properties and moisture buffering capacity are largely controlled by their microstructure. In this context, X-ray tomography is a promising technique as it enables inner inspection of the microstructure in three dimensions in a non-destructive fashion. Geometrical characteristics, such as the overall porosity and the aggregate volume ratio, can be quantified within the limits of the accuracy of the technique. The present study focuses on a vegetal concrete obtained by combining a metakaolin-based pozzolanic binder with sunflower bark chips. Our measurements show that the vegetal concrete exhibits an open and interconnected pore space, with pore sizes varying over multiple orders of magnitude. The arrangement of the particles is clearly affected by their elongated shape in combination with the compacting force applied during settlement. The material also exhibits shrinkage-induced cracks at the interface between bio-aggregates and binder paste. These observations demonstrate the potential and limitations of X-ray tomography applied to bio-based concretes. The three-dimensional datasets yield more insight compared to typical two-dimensional digital imaging methods such as SEM. Moreover, the non-destructive nature of the method could allow to monitor ageing mechanisms of bio-based concretes by scanning the same sample at different points in time. Similar to other techniques such as SEM, high-resolution tomographic scans can only be obtained on relatively small samples, which raises the question about the representativeness of the specimens in view of the high heterogeneity of vegetal concretes. Nevertheless, the non-destructive nature of the method enables performing multiple scans of different locations within the same sample and to combine the data. X-ray tomography is thus a powerful tool, which can easily be combined with other techniques and contribute to characterize the microstructure of vegetal concretes

Shallow-water scleractinian corals of Ascension Island, Central South Atlantic

The presence of five shallow-water scleractinian species at Ascension Island is confirmed, i.e. Favia gravida, Madracis sp., Siderastrea radians, Polycyathus atlanticus and Rhizosmilia gerdae. The three former are zooxanthellate, the two latter azooxanthellate. A sixth species, Cladocora debilis (azooxanthellate), dredged from moderately deep water is also expected to occur in shallow water. Madracis sp. and P. atlanticus are new records for the island. A previous record of Astrangia solitaria at Ascension is now referred to as P. atlanticus. Favia gravida, S. radians and C. debilis are amphi-Atlantic. Rhizosmilia gerdae is currently known only from Ascension Island and the Western Atlantic. None of the species are endemic to Ascension Island. No member of the family Dendrophylliidae has as yet been found at Ascension, whereas that family is represented at its nearest neighbour, St Helena Island.Darwin Initiative [EIDCF012]; Regional Council of Brittany; European Funds (ERDF); 'Laboratoire d'Excellence' LabexMER [ANR-10-LABX-19]; French government under the programme 'Investissements d'Avenir'info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Re-Baling Straw For Better Insulation

Agricultural straw bales, produced as a co-product of cereal crops such as wheat and rice, have been used in construction worldwide for over 100 years, but despite their favourable low environmental impact, sustainable supply chain, and good thermal insulation properties their use has remained largely niche compared with other competing products. However, straw bales have remained sub-optimal for building performance or practically for construction. The current study seeks to improve the insulation qualities of straw by manufacturing bales specifically for construction applications, with the straw stems oriented to maximise available thermal resistance. Technical development and characterisation of an insulating material produced from wheat straw, for use in conjunction with typical timber-framed construction for example, is reported. The paper describes aspects of developing an insulating prototype made from wheat straw, where the thermal properties relative to the orientation of the straw are investigated. Straw orientations other than that produced by traditional baling equipment, and on a scale designed for ease in construction use, require modified equipment. The design and development of small-scale baling equipment for the laboratory is presented. A series of small-scale thermal conductivity tests demonstrate the potential for improved performance through consideration of various straw orientations. Controlling the orientation of the individual straws results in improved thermal resistance, allowing thinner walls than conventional agricultural bales. Straw needs to be baled to specific thicknesses to support uptake in wider construction. With the capability of re-baling the straw into desirable dimensions, the overall width and length of a straw bale can be designed to fit with standard construction. This research will enable greater uptake of a novel low embodied carbon bio-based material into mainstream construction.<br/