Evaporation as an ageing procedure prior to wood preservative biological testing: when standardization needs metrology

The wood preservation laboratory of Cirad is accredited by COFRAC (French accreditation committee – accreditation No. 1-1686) for tests on (1) durability of wood and wood-based products; (2) protective efficacy of wood preservatives; (3) efficacy of termite control products. In order to test the efficacy of wood preservatives, non-durable wood blocks are treated using different product doses and exposed to the attack of xylophageous organisms (fungi, insects). To reproduce the ageing of treated wood blocks, some laboratory procedures are available. Amongst them, there is an evaporation procedure, reproducing the action of a warm air flow onto treated wood. This ageing step is very discriminant, as only the formulations fixing effectively the active ingredients will pass the biological test afterwards. This ageing by evaporation is described in the EN73 standard. Nevertheless, many points remain difficult to overcome. The tunnels used for the evaporation are all prototypes; as such equipment is not available currently on the market. So each laboratory has got its own tunnel device. Moreover the way to measure the temperature and speed of the air flow is very difficult to achieve considering the prescriptions of the EN73 standard. The EN73 standard is being revised by the European standardization group (CEN TC38) and despite the metrological aspects were crucial and inadequate in former version, they were not considered as they should. The wood preservation laboratory has forwarded remarks in order to supersede some points of the revision document in order to consider the metrological aspects. This is of main importance as the ageing procedure is commonly used prior to most of the biological test, and such tested products are put on the market based on the efficacy results

Genomic organization of the KTX2 gene, encoding a `short' scorpion toxin active on K+ channels

AbstractA single intron of 87 bp, close to the region encoding the C-terminal part of the signal peptide, was found in the gene of the `short' scorpion toxin kaliotoxin 2 of Androctonus australis acting on various types of K+ channels. Its A+T content was particularly high (up to 86%). By walking and ligation-mediated PCR, the promoter sequences of the kaliotoxin 2 gene of Androctonus australis were studied. The transcription unit of the gene is 390 bp long. Consensus sequences were identified. The genes of `short' scorpion toxins active on K+ channels are organized similarly to those of the `long' scorpion toxins active on Na+ channels and not like those of structurally related insect defensins, which are intronless

The metrological approach: a major key factor for the accreditation and continuous improvement of the wood preservation laboratory of Cirad

Depuis 2006, le laboratoire de préservation des bois du Cirad est accrédité par le COFRAC (Comité français d'accréditation - accréditation n°1-1686) pour ses essais sur la durabilité des bois et produits dérivés du bois et sur l'efficacité protectrice des produits de préservation et des produits anti-termites. La mise en place de la fonction métrologie au laboratoire de préservation du bois est un facteur clé de l'amélioration continue des pratiques. De tous les essais de caractérisation des bois, les essais de résistance aux agents biologiques de détérioration sont les plus délicats. Ils visent en effet à évaluer et à quantifier l'impact d'organismes vivants, comme les champignons et les termites, sur une matière lignocellulosique. On apprécie facilement l'importance de la variabilité de cet impact lié lui-même à la diversité de ces organismes. La validité et la fiabilité des résultats dépendront ainsi directement de la qualité du processus métrologique mis en oeuvre, comprenant le choix des appareils de mesure, leur gestion et leur mise en conformité avec les normes internationales. Mots clés: Métrologie, accréditation, traçabilité, incertitude, essais biologiques. (Résumé d'auteur

Comorbidity and glycemia control among patients with type 2 diabetes in primary care

Reports on the relationship between comorbidity and glycemia control in diabetic patients are conflicting and the method of measuring comorbidity varies widely among studies. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between diabetes control and comorbidity, taking into account all comorbidities and their severity, in a primary care setting. We performed a retrospective descriptive study based on chart review of 96 randomly selected type 2 diabetic patients. Comorbidity was measured with the cumulative illness rating scale (CIRS), an exhaustive comorbidity index. Diabetes was considered as controlled if the mean value of two measurements of glycosylated hemoglobin A (HbA1c) was less than 7%. Taking diabetes control as the dependent variable, its relationship with the CIRS score, age, sex, diabetes duration, and diabetes-related complications was explored. Diabetes control was not significantly related with the CIRS score, age, sex or diabetes severity. Diabetes duration was the only variable significantly related to diabetes control. Our study suggests that comorbidity measured with the CIRS in patients with type 2 diabetes is not a factor that prevents the achievement of a good glycemia control