Long Span DNA Paired-End-Tag (DNA-PET) Sequencing Strategy for the Interrogation of Genomic Structural Mutations and Fusion-Point-Guided Reconstruction of Amplicons

10.1371/journal.pone.0046152PLoS ONE79

Noncatalyzed Liquefaction of Celluloses in Hydrothermal Conditions: Influence of Reactant Physicochemical Characteristics and Modeling Studies

SSCI-VIDE+CDFA+PFO:NES:FRAInternational audienceThis paper reports a fundamental study on the hydrothermal liquefaction of cellulose into light products. First it aimed at comparing the noncatalyzed intrinsic reactivity of model celluloses such as Avicel and Sigmacell with various physicochemical characteristics (degree of polymerization, crystallinity, particle size, morphology). This information is of importance to dissociate the chemophysical phenomenon from the catalytic one in the case of catalytic liquefaction to better evaluate the added-value of a catalyst. Under various conditions (3-70 g.L-1, 175-200 degrees C, 0-120 h) despite a higher degree of polymerization Sigmacell reacted faster compared to Avicel and formed a higher amount of light products. The reactivity was preferentially influenced by the initial morphology of cellulose. The liquefaction in the absence of catalyst was never complete and led to insoluble hydrochar formation (20-30 wt %). Then a model was built based of three reaction pathways with kinetics and thermodynamic investigation. Although liquefaction of Sigmacell seemed to be more complex to predict, good correlation with the experimental data was obtained for Avicel both in terms of liquefaction and product formation

Modulation of GFAP mRNA levels following toxic lesions in the basal ganglia of the rat

International audienceGFAP mRNA levels were quantified by Northern blot analysis using a human GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) cDNA probe in association with immunocytochemistry. Ten days after a unilateral lesion of substantia nigra with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), GFAP mRNA level is increased 1.4-fold in the ipsilateral striatum; thereafter it declined continuously to reach the control level 4 months later. This effect contrasted with the lower and more sustained increase of preproenkephalin (PPE) mRNA, a marker of neuronal target of nigrostriatal pathway. Following ibotenic acid-induced neuronal degeneration of the neostriatum in the rat, we observed a sharp elevation of the GFAP transcripts (4-fold) as soon as 2 days after the lesion both in the striatum and in the substantia nigra. Whereas in the striatum GFAP mRNA level already declined at 5 days postlesion, it remained stable in the substantia nigra. In comparison GFAP immunoreactivity was slightly delayed. No obvious modification was observed in the contralateral side to the lesion whatever the denervation condition studied. Implication of these results on the understanding and the therapeutic approach of glial scarring is discussed

Controlled pinewood fractionation with supercritical ethanol: A prerequisite toward pinewood conversion into chemicals and biofuels

SSCI-VIDE+CDFA+FRA:NESInternational audienceThe objective of this work was to investigate the ability of supercritical (SC) ethanol conditions to attack preferentially the lignin fraction against the carbohydrate fraction and their effects on the product distribution among gases, light products, bio-oils, and chars. In this study, the conversion of each pinewood component was determined by the analysis of solid residues to quantify cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and char contents. It is shown that, by tuning the temperature, hemicellulose and lignin are already transformed in subcritical ethanol conditions, lignin being more reactive than hemicellulose. In contrast, native wood cellulose is recalcitrant to liquefaction in SC ethanol near the critical point (Tc = 241 °C and Pc = 61 bar), but 20% of native wood cellulose is converted in SC ethanol at 280 °C. Besides, the severity of the conditions, in terms of temperature and treatment time, does not significantly influence the yields of gases, light products, and bio-oils but strongly enhances char formation. Interestingly, the increase in SC ethanol density does not change the conversion of biomass components but has a marked effect on bio-oil yield and prevents char formation. The optimum fractionation conditions to convert the lignin component, while keeping unattacked the cellulose fraction with a minimum formation of char, are dense SC ethanol, at 250 °C for 1 h, in batch conditions. However, although lignin is more reactive than hemicellulose under these conditions, these fractions are converted, in a parallel way, to around 50% and 60%, respectively

Thermochemical fractionation/liquefaction of lignocellulosic biomass in supercritical ethanol: Influence of the experimental parameters

International @ CDFA+NBU:PFO:FRA:NESInternational audienceNon

Direct Solid Lewis Acid Catalyzed Wood Liquefaction into Lactic Acid: Kinetic Evidences that Wood Pretreatment Might Not be a Prerequisite

SSCI-VIDE+CDFA+YSW:CNG:TVU:FRA:MET:PFO:NESInternational audienceThe objective of the present work was to determine if wood sawdust can be used instead of isolated cellulose in the general solid-acid-catalyzed production of chemicals. The kinetics of model cellulose and pine-wood sawdust liquefaction into lactic acid were determined in the presence of a solid Lewis acid, ZrW. The catalytic hydrolysis of pine wood was performed at 190 degrees C in a large-scale batch reactor (2.5 L). Similar kinetic curves of lactic formation were obtained for cellulose and wood as substrates. Moreover, the initial lactic acid production rate of pine-wood sawdust was higher than that of model cellulose, proving that, in spite of the presence of lignin/hemicellulose, the catalyst drives the transformation towards lactic acid formation. However, our results give also evidence of solid-catalyst deactivation for both cellulose and wood substrates. This result indicates that if wood pretreatment can be bypassed, the bottleneck will be the solid-catalyst regeneration and recycling

Investigating (pseudo)-heterogeneous Pd-catalysts for kraft lignin depolymerization under mild aqueous basic conditions

International audienceLignin is one of the main components of lignocellulosic biomass and corresponds to the first renewable source of aromatic compounds. It is obtained as a by-product in 100 million tons per year, mainly from the paper industry, from which only 2–3% is upgraded for chemistry purposes, with the rest being used as an energy source. The richness of the functional groups in lignin makes it an attractive precursor for a wide variety of aromatic compounds. With this aim, we investigated the Pd-catalyzed depolymerization of lignin under mild oxidizing conditions (air, 150 °C, and aqueous NaOH) producing oxygenated aromatic compounds, such as vanillin, vanillic acid, and acetovanillone. Palladium catalysts were implemented following different strategies, involving nanoparticles stabilized in water, and nanoparticles were supported on TiO2. Significant conversion of lignin was observed in all cases; however, depending on the catalyst nature and the synthetic methods, differences were observed in terms of selectivity in aromatic monomers, mainly vanillin. All these aspects are discussed in detail in this report, which also provides new insights into the role that Pd-catalysts can play for the lignin depolymerization mechanism

[The Confusion Assessment Method: Transcultural adaptation of a French version]

International audienceINTRODUCTION: The Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) is a validated key tool in clinical practice and research programs to diagnose delirium and assess its severity. There is no validated French version of the CAM training manual and coding guide (Inouye SK). The aim of this study was to establish a consensual French version of the CAM and its manual. METHODS: Cross-cultural adaptation to achieve equivalence between the original version and a French adapted version of the CAM manual. RESULTS: A rigorous process was conducted including control of cultural adequacy of the tool's components, double forward and back translations, reconciliation, expert committee review (including bilingual translators with different nationalities, a linguist, highly qualified clinicians, methodologists) and pretesting. A consensual French version of the CAM was achieved. CONCLUSION: Implementation of the CAM French version in daily clinical practice will enable optimal diagnosis of delirium diagnosis and enhance communication between health professionals in French speaking countries. Validity and psychometric properties are being tested in a French multicenter cohort, opening up new perspectives for improved quality of care and research programs in French speaking countries