Development and characterization of environmentally friendly composites from poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and almond shell flour with different compatibilizers

[EN] This work reports the enhancement of the properties of poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) composites containing 30 wt% almond shell flour (ASF) by using different compatibilizer families: epoxy, maleic anhydride and acrylic. With regard to the epoxy compatibilizers, epoxidized linseed oil (ELO) and epoxidized soybean oil (ESBO) were used. Two maleic anhydride-derived compatibilizers, namely, maleinized linseed oil (MLO) and dodecenyl succinic anhydride (DDSA) were used. Finally, two acrylic monomers, namely methyl methacrylate (MMA) and acrylic acid (AA) were employed. Uncompatibilized and compatibilized PBS/ASF composites were characterized in terms of their mechanical properties, morphology, thermal behaviour and thermomechanical performance. The obtained results suggest that all three vegetable oil-derived compatibilizers (ELO, ESBO and MLO) give a remarkable increase in ductile properties while poor compatibilization is obtained with the acrylic monomers. These vegetable-oil derived compatibilizers could represents an interesting environmentally friendly solution to compatibilizing polyester-type polymers and their composites with lignocellulosic materials.This work was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) grant numbers MAT2014-59242-C2-1-R and MAT2017-84909-C2-2-R. L. Quiles-Carrillo acknowledges Generalitat Valenciana (GV) for financial support through a FPI grant (ACIF/2016/182) and the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports (MECD) for his FPU grant (FPU15/03812).Liminana, P.; Garcia-Sanoguera, D.; Quiles-Carrillo, L.; Balart, R.; Montanes, N. (2018). Development and characterization of environmentally friendly composites from poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and almond shell flour with different compatibilizers. Composites Part B Engineering. 144:153-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2018.02.031S15316214

Inner necrosis in grapevine rootstock mother plants in the Cognac area (Charentes, France)

The incidence and quantification of decline-associated inner necrosis in grapevine rootstock mother plants have rarely been studied. In an experimental vineyard planted in 1991 at Saintes (Charentes), susceptibility to esca was evaluated in eleven common rootstock varieties. Fifty vines per rootstock variety were used as mother plants producing long canes which were severely pruned every year. No foliar symptoms, typical of grapevine wood diseases, were seen in field inspections conducted in the summer of 1996, 2002, 2003 and 2006. In 2007, nine trunks per variety were randomly selected and were cross-sectioned at the point of greatest diameter. All sections revealed typical esca necrosis, central and/or sector-shaped, indicating that such necrosis is very common. Every section was photographed and the percentage of necrotic area was calculated by either visual assessment or image-analysis. No significant difference was detected between these two calculating methods. Based on the mean percent necrotic area, rootstock varieties were ranked in order of susceptibility from the least susceptible, ‘1103 Paulsen’ (33%), to the most susceptible, ‘101-14 MGT’ (71%). The percent of necrotic area was correlated significantly with i) the incidence of mortality and ii) the percentage of vine sections showing white rot, a type of necrosis indicating an advanced stage of wood deterioration. This study confirmed that necrosis in grapevine wood is not always associated with foliar symptoms, but that it is related positively with grapevine mortality. Furthermore, wood necrosis in mother-plants poses a risk of disseminating associated fungi through propagation material

Etude de la croissance et de la ramification de différentes formes de cyprès : Cupressus sempervirens L. (Cupressaceae)

National audienc

Endothelial gamma-glutamyltransferase contributes to the vasorelaxant effect of S-nitrosoglutathione in rat aorta

S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) involved in storage and transport of nitric oxide (•NO), plays an important role in vascular homeostasis. Breakdown of GSNO can be catalyzed by γ−glutamyltransferase (GGT). We investigated whether vascular GGT influences the vasorelaxant effect of GSNO in isolated rat aorta. Histochemical localization of GGT and its activity measurement were performed by using chromogenic substrates in sections and in aorta homogenates, respectively. The role of GGT in GSNO metabolism was evaluated by measuring GSNO consumption rate (absorbance decay at 334 nm), •NO release was visualized and quantified with the fluorescent probe 4,5-diaminofluorescein diacetate. The vasorelaxant effect of GSNO was assayed using isolated rat aortic rings (in the presence or absence of endothelium). In each experiment, the role of GGT was assessed using a γ-glutamyl acceptor, glycylglycine, and a non-competitive inhibitor of GGT, serine borate complex. Specific GGT activity was histochemically localized in the endothelium. Consumption of GSNO and release of free •NO decreased and increased in presence of serine borate complex and glycylglycine, respectively. In endothelium-intact aorta, half maximal effective concentration (EC50) for GSNO (3.2 ± 0.5.10-7 M) was increased in the presence of serine borate complex serine borate complex (1.6 ± 0.2.10-6 M) and decreased with glycylglycine (4.7 ± 0.9.10-8 M). In endothelium-denuded aorta, EC50 for GSNO alone increased to 2.3 ± 0.3.10-6 M, with no change in the presence of serine borate complex. These data demonstrate the important role of endothelial GGT activity in mediating the vasorelaxant effect of GSNO in rat aorta under physiological conditions. Because new therapeutics treatments based on GSNO are actually developed, this endothelium-dependent mechanism involved in the vascular effects of GSNO should be taken into account in a pharmacological perspective

Oncocercosis and its control in Equatorial Guinea: 1997-2010

BAN EK, 199