Engineered Nanomaterials and Human Health: Part 2. Applications and Nanotoxicology (IUPAC Technical Report) (Review)

Research on engineered nanomaterials (ENM) has progressed rapidly from the very early stages of studying their unique, size-dependent physicochemical properties and commercial exploration to the development of products that influence our everyday lives. We have previously reviewed various methods for synthesis, surface functionalization, and analytical characterization of ENM in a publication titled \u27Engineered Nanomaterials: Preparation, Functionalization and Characterization\u27. In this second, inter-linked document, we first provide an overview of important applications of ENM in products relevant to human healthcare and consumer goods, such as food, textiles, and cosmetics. We then highlight the challenges for the design and development of new ENM for bio-applications, particularly in the rapidly developing nanomedicine sector. The second part of this document is dedicated to nanotoxicology studies of ENM in consumer products. We describe the various biological targets where toxicity may occur, summarize the four nanotoxicology principles, and discuss the need for careful consideration of the biodistribution, degradation, and elimination routes of nanosized materials before they can be safely used. Finally, we review expert opinions on the risk, regulation, and ethical aspects of using engineered nanomaterials in applications that may have direct or indirect impact on human health or our environment

Biodegradation of Poly(butylene succinate) Powder in a Controlled Compost at 58 °C Evaluated by Naturally-Occurring Carbon 14 Amounts in Evolved CO2 Based on the ISO 14855-2 Method

The biodegradabilities of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) powders in a controlled compost at 58 °C have been studied using a Microbial Oxidative Degradation Analyzer (MODA) based on the ISO 14855-2 method, entitled “Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability of plastic materials under controlled composting conditions—Method by analysis of evolved carbon dioxide—Part 2: Gravimetric measurement of carbon dioxide evolved in a laboratory-scale test”. The evolved CO2 was trapped by an additional aqueous Ba(OH)2 solution. The trapped BaCO3 was transformed into graphite via a serial vaporization and reduction reaction using a gas-tight tube and vacuum manifold system. This graphite was analyzed by accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS) to determine the percent modern carbon [pMC (sample)] based on the 14C radiocarbon concentration. By using the theory that pMC (sample) was the sum of the pMC (compost) (109.87%) and pMC (PBS) (0%) as the respective ratio in the determined period, the CO2 (respiration) was calculated from only one reaction vessel. It was found that the biodegradabilities determined by the CO2 amount from PBS in the sample vessel were about 30% lower than those based on the ISO method. These differences between the ISO and AMS methods are caused by the fact that part of the carbons from PBS are changed into metabolites by the microorganisms in the compost, and not changed into CO2

A 3.2 GHz Injection-Locked Ring Oscillator-Based Phase-Locked-Loop for Clock Recovery

An injection-locked ring oscillator-based phase-locked-loop targeting clock recovery for space application at 3.2 GHz is presented here. Most clock recovery circuits need a very low phase noise and jitter performance and are thus based on LC-type oscillators. These excellent performances come at the expense of a very poor integration density. To alleviate this issue, this work introduces an injection-locked ring oscillator-based PLL circuit. The combination of the injection-locking process with the use of ring oscillators allows for the benefit of excellent jitter performance while presenting an extremely low surface area due to an architecture without any inductor. The injection locking principle is addressed, and evidence of its phase noise and jitter improvements are confirmed through measurement results. Indeed, phase noise and jitter enhancements up to 43 dB and 23.3 mUI, respectively, were measured. As intended, this work shows the best integration density compared to recent similar state-of-the-art studies. The whole architecture measures 0.1 mm2 while consuming 34.6 mW in a low-cost 180 nm CMOS technology

Engineered nanomaterials and human health: Part 1. Preparation, functionalization and characterization (IUPAC Technical Report)

Nanotechnology is a rapidly evolving field, as evidenced by the large number of publications on the synthesis, characterization, and biological/environmental effects of new nano-sized materials. The unique, size-dependent properties of nanomaterials have been exploited in a diverse range of applications and in many examples of nano-enabled consumer products. In this account we focus on Engineered Nanomaterials (ENM), a class of deliberately designed and constructed nano-sized materials. Due to the large volume of publications, we separated the preparation and characterisation of ENM from applications and toxicity into two interconnected documents. Part 1 summarizes nanomaterial terminology and provides an overview of the best practices for their preparation, surface functionalization, and analytical characterization. Part 2 (this issue, Pure Appl. Chem. 2018; 90(8): 1325–1356) focuses on ENM that are used in products that are expected to come in close contact with consumers. It reviews nanomaterials used in therapeutics, diagnostics, and consumer goods and summarizes current nanotoxicology challenges and the current state of nanomaterial regulation, providing insight on the growing public debate on whether the environmental and social costs of nanotechnology outweigh its potential benefit

Crowdsourced assessment of common genetic contribution to predicting anti-TNF treatment response in rheumatoid arthritis

Correction: vol 7, 13205, 2016, doi:10.1038/ncomms13205Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects millions world-wide. While anti-TNF treatment is widely used to reduce disease progression, treatment fails in Bone-third of patients. No biomarker currently exists that identifies non-responders before treatment. A rigorous community-based assessment of the utility of SNP data for predicting anti-TNF treatment efficacy in RA patients was performed in the context of a DREAM Challenge (http://www.synapse.org/RA_Challenge). An open challenge framework enabled the comparative evaluation of predictions developed by 73 research groups using the most comprehensive available data and covering a wide range of state-of-the-art modelling methodologies. Despite a significant genetic heritability estimate of treatment non-response trait (h(2) = 0.18, P value = 0.02), no significant genetic contribution to prediction accuracy is observed. Results formally confirm the expectations of the rheumatology community that SNP information does not significantly improve predictive performance relative to standard clinical traits, thereby justifying a refocusing of future efforts on collection of other data.Peer reviewe

Prebiotic macromolecules and today’s biomacromolecules in the light of polymerology

International audienc

Le réfrigérateur comme modèle de la façon dont l'eau gère les chaleurs solaires et anthropiques et contrôle le réchauffement climatique

The relation between global warming and the role of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) is confusing. Ocean level and atmospheric temperature rises are predicted dramatic in distant future whereas global ices disappearance is already dramatic and increasing. In this article, we called on the heat control machinery exploited in a refrigerator to show that water behaves as a refrigerant to manage solar and anthropogenic heats and also any heat generated from sources localized on Earth. Year 2018 was taken as example for quantitative evaluation of heat energy transfers involved in water phases and interphase exchanges. It was concluded that ice melting and evaporation-condensation equilibria are efficient physical factors to fight global warming. It is also shown that the pool of water present on Earth is progressively augmented by the water liberated parallel to CO2 during the combustion of fossil hydrocarbons in which it was stored millions years ago. Water as source of hydrogen may be an alternative to the sources of energy produced and consumed by humanity provided that heat-cycle assessment from cradle to grave complements the life cycle assessment favorably.La relation entre le réchauffement climatique et le rôle du dioxyde de carbone (CO2) anthropique est confuse. Les hausses du niveau de l'océan et de la température atmosphérique sont prédites dramatiques dans un avenir lointain alors que la disparition des glaces mondiales est déjà dramatique et en augmentation. Dans cet article, nous avons fait appel à la machinerie de contrôle de la chaleur exploitée dans un réfrigérateur pour montrer que l'eau se comporte comme un fluide frigorigène pour gérer les chaleurs solaires et anthropiques ainsi que toute chaleur générée à partir de sources localisées sur Terre. L'année 2018 a été prise comme exemple pour l'évaluation quantitative des transferts d'énergie thermique impliqués dans les phases aqueuses et les échanges interphases. Il a été conclu que la fonte des glaces et les équilibres évaporation-condensation sont des facteurs physiques efficaces pour lutter contre le réchauffement climatique. Il est également montré que la réserve d'eau présente sur Terre est progressivement augmentée par l'eau libérée parallèlement au CO2 lors de la combustion des hydrocarbures fossiles dans lesquels elle était stockée il y a des millions d'années. L'eau comme source d'hydrogène peut être une alternative aux sources d'énergie produites et consommées par l'humanité à condition que l'évaluation du cycle thermique du berceau à la tombe complète favorablement l'évaluation du cycle de vie

Prebiotic macromolecules and today’s biomacromolecules in the light of polymerology

International audienc

La fonte des glaces : et si l'effet de serre du CO 2 anthropique n'était pas la (seule) raison ?

The all-sided information provided by greenhouse gas experts is disturbing. Future ocean level and atmosphere temperature raises are assigned to an increase of "greenhouse effect" due to the surplus of carbon dioxide (CO2) of anthropogenic origin. Reducing the fossil sources of CO2 is therefore the recommended solution. However, the related dogma is subject to polemics. As an alternative, the present approach is based on the exploitation of twelve facts and not on assumptions and calculations. It is shown that a minimal estimate of the global thermal energy consumed in 2018 (0.1 Zj) and the estimated heat necessary to melt the ices that disappeared during the year (0.08 Zj) are of the same order of magnitude. This observation suggests that the greenhouse effect of fossil CO2 is not necessary to explain the disappearance of ices. The discussion shows that taking into account the generally neglected anthropogenic heat and the water phase-transfer equilibria may explain the discrepancy observed between the rather small variations in average atmospheric and oceanic temperatures and the considerable ices melt. It is shown that the increases of total energy, of anthropogenic heat and of melted ices exhibited the same trends over the 2000-2018 period of time. A few years should be enough to confirm or invalidate these trends. In case of confirmation, replacing the fossil sources of energy by other sources to limit climate changes may turn to be ineffective if these new sources supply equivalent amounts of heat. It is the controls of population and of its bulimia in energies that will have to be promoted.Les informations diffusées par les spécialistes de l'effet de serre sont troublantes. Les perturbations climatiques sont attribuées à tout-va à un accroissement de « l'effet de serre » naturel dû à l'augmentation de la teneur de l'atmosphère en gaz carbonique CO2). Diminuer ces sources de CO2 est donc la solution recommandée. Le domaine est toutefois sujet à polémiques. L'analyse originale proposée est fondée sur 12 faits scientifiques et non sur des hypothèses et des calculs. Il est montré qu’une évaluation de l’énergie thermique anthropique diffusée dans l’environnement en 2018 (0,1 Zj) et la chaleur nécessaire pour fondre les 240 Gt de glaces données comme disparues dans l'année (0.08 Zj) sont du même ordre de grandeur. Ce constat suggère qu'il n'est pas nécessaire de faire appel à l'effet de serre pour expliquer la disparition des glaces de plus en plus évidente au fil des années. La discussion montre que la prise en compte de l'énergie thermique anthropique généralement négligée permet d'apporter une explication logique à l'observation de peu de variations des températures moyennes de l'atmosphère et des eaux océaniques quand la fonte des glaces est considérable. Il est aussi montré que les courbes de croissance de l'énergie totale, de la chaleur anthropique et de la fonte des glaces suivent les mêmes tendances sur la période 2000-2018. Quelques années devraient suffire pour confirmer ou infirmer ce constat. En cas de confirmation, remplacer les sources fossiles de CO2 pour limiter les effets climatiques sera inutile si les nouvelles sources fournissent autant de chaleur. C'est le contrôle de la croissance de la population et celui de la boulimie d'énergies nécessaire à l'humanité qu'il faudra promouvoir. Si rien n'est fait, la disparition totale des glaces pourrait survenir dans une centaine d'année, laissant aux équilibres eau ↔ vapeur ↔ eau (nuages et pluies)) le soin de gérer les apports de chaleur anthropiques