The Influence of Phase Behavior on Reactions at Supercritical Conditions: The Hydrogenation of α-Pinene

International audienceIn this paper, results on the hydrogenation of R-pinene, a liquid reactant, in supercritical (SC) CO 2 are presented. Visual observation of phase equilibria under the conditions of the reaction experiments was also performed. Much faster reaction rates were obtained when a two-phase system was present in the reactor than when a homogeneous, one-phase situation occurred. This phenomenon is attributed to the fact that SC CO 2 can dissolve extensively in the liquid reactant, leading to the formation of an "expanded liquid", which can dissolve large quantities of hydrogen. This seems to be the first time that this type of behavior is reported in the literature

Efficacy of serum procalcitonin to predict spontaneous preterm birth in women with threatened preterm labour: a prospective observational study

Abstract Background A hypothesis of preterm parturition is that the pathogenesis of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) may be associated with an inflammatory process. Based on this theory, we have hypothesized that an inflammatory biomarker, procalcitonin (PCT), may be a good predictive marker of sPTB at the admission for threatened preterm labour (TPL). The present study was aimed to investigate the association between serum PCT and sPTB in women with TPL and to evaluate whether PCT levels may predict sPTB in women with TPL within 7 or 14 days. Methods In a prospective observational laboratory-based study, women with singleton pregnancies, TPL between 24 and 36 weeks and intact membranes, were enrolled between January 2014 and June 2016. Participants received routine medical management of TPL (tocolysis with atosiban, antenatal corticosteroids, and biological tests at admission (C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, and PCT measured on electrochemiluminescence immunoassay)). The primary endpoint was sPTB before 37 weeks of gestation. The value of serum PCT levels to predict sPTB within 7 or 14 days were evaluated using receiver-operating curves (ROC) analysis. Results A total of 124 women were included in our study. PCT levels did not statistically differ between women with sPTB (n = 30, 24.2%) and controls (n = 94) (median in ng/mL [interquartile range]: 0.043 [0.02–0.07] compared to 0.042 [0.02–0.13], respectively; P = 0.56). PCT levels did not also statistically differ between women with sPTB within 7 days (n = 7, 5.6%) or 14 days (n = 12, 9.7%) after testing and controls. Moreover, subgroup analysis revealed no difference among PCT levels at admission between 24 and 28 weeks, between 28 and 32 weeks and over 32 weeks, and controls. On the basis of the receiver-operating characteristic curve, the highest sensitivity and specificity corresponded to a PCT concentration of 0.038 ng/mL, with poor predictive values for sPTB within 7 or 14 days. Conclusion Serum PCT was not relevant to predict sPTB within 7 or 14 days in women admitted with TPL between 24 and 36 weeks, and thus it is not a suitable biological marker to confirm the hypothesis of an inflammatory process associated with preterm parturition. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01977079), Registered 24 October 2013

Identificação e lisotipagem de amostras de Salmonella paratyphi A, causadora de surto epidêmico em Tucuruí, Pará, Brasil, em 1980

Instituto Adolfo Lutz. São Paulo, SP, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Fundação Serviços de Saúde Pública. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Belém, PA, Brasil.Instituto Adolfo Lutz. São Paulo, SP, Brasil.Instituto Adolfo Lutz. São Paulo, SP, Brasil.Instituto Adolfo Lutz. São Paulo, SP, Brasil.Instituto Adolfo Lutz. São Paulo, SP, Brasil.Hospital de Vila Temporária. Tucuruí, PA, Brasil.Em agosto de 1980, em um canteiro de obras da hidrelétrica de Tucurui , no Estado do Pará, ocorreu um surto epidêmico de salmonelose, durante o qual foram isoladas, no Hospital Vila Temporária, 101 cepas de Salmonella sp., através de hemocultura e coprocultura ; 62 cepas foram enviadas à Seção de Bacter iologia do Instituto Adolfo Lutz, São Paulo, e 39 à Seção de Bacteriologia do Instituto Evandro Chagas, Belém, onde foi feita a confirmação bioquímica do gênero e a sorotipagem. A lisotipagem de 55 cepas, efetuada no Centro de Lisotipia Entérica do Instituto Pasteur de P a r i s , França, demonstrou que todas pertenciam ao lisotipo Ib, fato este que sugere origem única para o surto epidêmico em tela. Todas as cepas mostraram alta sensibilidade aos antimicrobianos aos quais f oram submetidas: ampicilina, ácido nalidixico, cefalotina, estreptomicina , canamicina, cloranfenicol , tetraciclina , gentamicina, amicacina e colistina . Este foi o primeiro surto epidêmico de salmonelose por Salmonella paratyphi A assinalado no Brasil.In August, 1980, an outbreak of salmonellosis occured in Tucurui , State of Pará, Brazil . Isolation of 101 strains of Salmonella sp. was made from blood and feces specimens at a local hospital . Biochemical and serol ogical tests confirmed the genus and the serotype involved while lysotyping of 55 strains showed that all strains belonged to lysotype 1b , which suggests t hat the outbreak stemmed f r o m a single source. All strairs showed high susceptibilit y to the antibiotics : ampicillin , nalidixic acid, cephalothin, streptomycin, kanamycin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline , gentamicin, amikacin and colistin . This was the first outbreak of S. paratyphi A identified in Brazil

Mov Disord

Mitochondrial membrane protein-associated neurodegeneration (MPAN) is caused by mutations in the C19orf12 gene. MPAN typically appears in the first two decades of life and presents with progressive dystonia-parkinsonism, lower motor neuron signs, optic atrophy, and abnormal iron deposits predominantly in the basal ganglia. MPAN, initially considered as a strictly autosomal recessive disease (AR), turned out to be also dominantly inherited (AD). Our aim was to better characterize the clinical, molecular, and functional spectra associated with such dominant pathogenic heterozygous C19orf12 variants. We collected clinical, imaging, and molecular information of eight individuals from four AD-MPAN families and obtained brain neuropathology results for one. Functional studies, focused on energy and iron metabolism, were conducted on fibroblasts from AD-MPAN patients, AR-MPAN patients, and controls. We identified four heterozygous C19orf12 variants in eight AD-MPAN patients. Two of them carrying the familial variant in mosaic displayed an atypical late-onset phenotype. Fibroblasts from AD-MPAN showed more severe alterations of iron storage metabolism and autophagy compared to AR-MPAN cells. Our data add strong evidence of the realness of AD-MPAN with identification of novel monoallelic C19orf12 variants, including at the mosaic state. This has implications in diagnosis procedures. We also expand the phenotypic spectrum of MPAN to late onset atypical presentations. Finally, we demonstrate for the first time more drastic abnormalities of iron metabolism and autophagy in AD-MPAN than in AR-MPAN

Phenotype and imaging features associated with APP duplications

Abstract Background APP duplication is a rare genetic cause of Alzheimer disease and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). We aimed to evaluate the phenotypes of APP duplications carriers. Methods Clinical, radiological, and neuropathological features of 43 APP duplication carriers from 24 French families were retrospectively analyzed, and MRI features and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers were compared to 40 APP-negative CAA controls. Results Major neurocognitive disorders were found in 90.2% symptomatic APP duplication carriers, with prominent behavioral impairment in 9.7%. Symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhages were reported in 29.2% and seizures in 51.2%. CSF Aβ42 levels were abnormal in 18/19 patients and 14/19 patients fulfilled MRI radiological criteria for CAA, while only 5 displayed no hemorrhagic features. We found no correlation between CAA radiological signs and duplication size. Compared to CAA controls, APP duplication carriers showed less disseminated cortical superficial siderosis (0% vs 37.5%, p = 0.004 adjusted for the delay between symptoms onset and MRI). Deep microbleeds were found in two APP duplication carriers. In addition to neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques, CAA was diffuse and severe with thickening of leptomeningeal vessels in all 9 autopsies. Lewy bodies were found in substantia nigra, locus coeruleus, and cortical structures of 2/9 patients, and one presented vascular amyloid deposits in basal ganglia. Discussion Phenotypes associated with APP duplications were heterogeneous with different clinical presentations including dementia, hemorrhage, and seizure and different radiological presentations, even within families. No apparent correlation with duplication size was found. Amyloid burden was severe and widely extended to cerebral vessels as suggested by hemorrhagic features on MRI and neuropathological data, making APP duplication an interesting model of CAA