METSTOR: A GIS to look for potential CO2 storage zones in France

AbstractThe METSTOR project offers a methodology to look for potentially interesting CO2 storage areas in France at the initial stage, before the “site selection” step. Our tool, embodied in a Geographic Information System, is based on an interactive map of CO2 storage capacities. Other relevant information layers are included. The geographic layers are complemented with a series of online technical notices. It seems to be the first open online GIS that offers policy makers, businesses and the public at large an integrated access to that necessary information. Our prototype, limited mainly to the Paris Basin, is released online at www.metstor.fr

A new plastic correction for the stress intensity factor of an under-clad defect in a PWR vessel subjected to a pressurised thermal shock

International audienceFor the assessment of an under-clad defect in a vessel submitted to a cold pressurized thermal shock, plasticity is considered through the amplification b of the elastic stress intensity factor KI in the ferritic part of the vessel. An important effort has been made recently by CEA to improve the analytical tools in the frame of RetD activities funded by IRSN. The current solution in the French RSE-M code has been developed from fitting F.E. calculation results. A more physical solution is proposed in this paper. This takes into account two phenomena the amplification of the elastic KI due to the plasticity in the cladding and a plastic zone size correction in the ferritic part. The first correction has been established by representing the cladding plasticity by an imposed displacement on the crack lips at the interface between the cladding and the ferritic vessel. The corresponding elastic stress intensity factor is determined from the elastic plane strain asymptotic solution for the opening displacement. Plasticity in the ferritic steel is considered through a classical plastic zone size correction.The application of the solution to axisymmetric defects is first checked. The case of semi-elliptical defects is also investigated. For the correction determined at the interface between the cladding and the ferritic vessel, an amplification of the correction proposed for the deepest point is determined from a fitting of the 3D F.E. calculation results. It is also shown that the proposition of RSE-M which consists in applying the same b correction at the deepest point and the interface point is not suitable.The applicability to a thermal shock, eventually combined with an internal pressure has been verified. For the deepest point, the proposed correction leads to similar results to the RSE-M method, but presents an extended domain of validity (no limit on the crack length are imposed)

Thermomechanical analysis of thermal shock fracture in the brittle/ ductile transition zone - Part II: Numerical calculations and interpretation of the test results

The integrity of PWR pressure vessels is assured by keeping the crack tip stress intensity factor below the toughness of the material under monotonic isothermal loading. To study the effects of sudden cooling associated with a thermal gradient, a specially modified compact specimen has been developed. This has been used to carry out tests in the transition zone with different loading-temperature sequences liable to call the conventional criteria into question. The test is described in detail in Part I of this article [Chapuliot S, et al. Thermomechanical analysis of thermal shock fracture in the brittle/ ductile transition zone. Part I: Description of the tests. Engng Fract Mech, 72, 2005, 661-73]. The second part describes numerical investigations to estimate the local mechanical fields at the crack tip and the overall parameters of the fracture mechanics. Finite element thermomechanical calculations are used to interpret the results of these new thermal shock tests using the master curve concept [ASTM E 1921-1997. Standard test method for determination of reference temperature To for ferritic steels in the transition range, 1997] and the Beremin statistical model [Beremin FM. A local criterion for cleavage fracture of a nuclear pressure vessel steel. Metall Trans A, 14A, November 1983, 2287-777]. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Thermal behaviour of xenon in ZrC at high temperature

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MEFV-Gene analysis in armenian patients with Familial Mediterranean fever: diagnostic value and unfavorable renal prognosis of the M694V homozygous genotype-genetic and therapeutic implications.

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a recessively inherited disorder that is common in patients of Armenian ancestry. To date, its diagnosis, which can be made only retrospectively, is one of exclusion, based entirely on nonspecific clinical signs that result from serosal inflammation and that may lead to unnecessary surgery. Renal amyloidosis, prevented by colchicine, is the most severe complication of FMF, a disorder associated with mutations in the MEFV gene. To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of MEFV-gene analysis, we investigated 90 Armenian FMF patients from 77 unrelated families that were not selected through genetic-linkage analysis. Eight mutations, one of which (R408Q) is new, were found to account for 93% of the 163 independent FMF alleles, with both FMF alleles identified in 89% of the patients. In several instances, family studies provided molecular evidence for pseudodominant transmission and incomplete penetrance of the disease phenotype. The M694V homozygous genotype was found to be associated with a higher prevalence of renal amyloidosis and arthritis, compared with other genotypes (P=.0002 and P=.006, respectively). The demonstration of both the diagnostic and prognostic value of MEFV analysis and particular modes of inheritance should lead to new ways for management of FMF-including genetic counseling and therapeutic decisions in affected families

Impact of age on in vitro metabolism of clopidogrel: a potential explanation for high on-treatment platelet reactivity in the elderly?

International audienceBACKGROUND: High on-treatment platelet reactivity has been reported in 30% of patients on clopidogrel and 50% in elderly patients; however, little is known about the mechanisms of this biological resistance. One hypothesis is an age-related impaired hepatic metabolism of the prodrug clopidogrel, leading to a lower formation of its active metabolite (clopidogrel-AM). OBJECTIVES: To compare the levels of clopidogrel-AM formed in vitro using "old" and "young" human liver microsomes (HLMs) and their consequences on platelet functions. METHODS: We developed an in vitro model using "old" (73.6 ± 2.3 years) and "young" (51.2 ± 8.5 years) HLMs, added to platelet-rich plasma from 21 healthy donors with or without clopidogrel (50 μM) and incubated at 37 °C for 30 (T30) and 45 minutes (T45). Clopidogrel-AM was quantified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry method. Platelet aggregation was performed by light transmission aggregometry. RESULTS: The generation of clopidogrel-AM increased over time and reached concentrations comparable with those reported in treated patients. At T30, mean clopidogrel-AM concentrations were significantly higher with "young" (8.56 μg/L; 95% CI, 5.87-11.24) than with "old" HLMs (7.64 μg/L; 95% CI, 5.14-10.14; P = .002); and at T45, 11.40 μg/L; 95% CI (7.57-15.22) vs 10.63 μg/L, 95% CI (7.10-14.15), P = .02 (n = 21). Despite a significant inhibition of platelet aggregation, no significant difference was found in light transmission aggregometry (adenosine diphosphate, 10 μM) after clopidogrel metabolism by "old" or "young" HLMs, probably because of low sensitivity of the method to small variations of clopidogrel-AM. CONCLUSION: In this original model combining metabolic and functional approaches, less clopidogrel-AM was produced with HLMs from older patients. This provides support for a decreased CYP450 activity that may contribute to high on-treatment platelet reactivity in elderly patients

A genomic portrait of the genetic architecture and regulatory impact of microRNA expression in response to infection

International audienceMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are critical regulators of gene expression, and their role in a wide variety of biological processes, including host antimicrobial defense, is increasingly well described. Consistent with their diverse functional effects, miRNA expression is highly context dependent and shows marked changes upon cellular activation. However, the genetic control of miRNA expression in response to external stimuli and the impact of such perturbations on miRNA-mediated regulatory networks at the population level remain to be determined. Here we assessed changes in miRNA expression upon Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and mapped expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) in dendritic cells from a panel of healthy individuals. Genome-wide expression profiling revealed that ∼40% of miRNAs are differentially expressed upon infection. We find that the expression of 3% of miRNAs is controlled by proximate genetic factors, which are enriched in a promoter-specific histone modification associated with active transcription. Notably, we identify two infection-specific response eQTLs, for miR-326 and miR-1260, providing an initial assessment of the impact of genotype-environment interactions on miRNA molecular phenotypes. Furthermore, we show that infection coincides with a marked remodeling of the genome-wide relationships between miRNA and mRNA expression levels. This observation, supplemented by experimental data using the model of miR-29a, sheds light on the role of a set of miRNAs in cellular responses to infection. Collectively, this study increases our understanding of the genetic architecture of miRNA expression in response to infection, and highlights the wide-reaching impact of altering miRNA expression on the transcriptional landscape of a cell