Inaugurating a Dutch Napoleon? Conservative criticism of the 1815 constitution of the United Kingdom of The Netherlands

International audienc

Characterization of 81P/Wild 2 Particles C2067,1,111,6.0 and C2067,1,111,8.0

The concentrations of C and N in cometary particles are of interest in characterizing the regions where comets formed. One aim of this work is to analyze enough Stardust particles to draw meaningful statistical conclusions about their inventories of C and N. Toward that end we report recent studies of Stardust particles and related materials

Silicone adhesive multilayer foam dressings as adjuvant prophylactic therapy to prevent hospital-acquired pressure ulcers : a pragmatic noncommercial multicentre randomized open-label parallel-group medical device trial

Background: Silicone adhesive multilayer foam dressings are used as adjuvant therapy to prevent hospital‐acquired pressure ulcers (PUs). Objectives: Determine if silicone foam dressings in addition to standard prevention reduce PU incidence category 2 or worse compared to standard prevention alone. Methods: Multicentre, randomised controlled, medical device trial conducted in eight Belgian hospitals. At risk adult patients were centrally randomised (n=1633) to study groups based on a 1:1:1 allocation: experimental group 1 (n=542) and 2 (n=545) ‐ pooled as the treatment group ‐ and the control group (n=546). Experimental groups received PU prevention according to hospital protocol, and a silicone foam dressing on these body sites. The control group received standard of care. The primary endpoint was the incidence of a new PU category 2 or worse at these body sites. Results: In the intention‐to‐treat population (n=1605); 4.0% of patients developed PUs category 2 or worse in the treatment group and 6.3% in the control group (RR=0.64, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.99, P=0.04). Sacral PUs were observed in 2.8% and 4.8% of the patients in the treatment group and the control group, respectively (RR=0.59, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.98, P=0.04). Heel PUs occurred in 1.4% and 1.9% of patients in the treatment and control group respectively (RR=0.76, 95% CI 0.34 to 1.68, P=0.49). Conclusions: Silicone foam dressings reduce the incidence of PUs category 2 or worse in hospitalised at‐risk patients when used in addition to standard of care. Results show a decrease for sacrum, but no statistical difference for heel/trochanter areas

C/N and other Elemental Ratios of Chondritic Porous IDPS and a Fluffy Concordia Micrometeorite

Chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles (CP-IDPs) may be cometary in origin [1], as may ultracarbona-ceous (UCAMMs) [2] and 'fluffy' [3] micrometeorites from the Concordia collection. They are all rich in organics, which can rim grains and may have helped glue grains together during accretion [4]. The organics also contain nitrogen the input of which to Earth has potential biological importance. We report C/N ratios, and other properties of CP-IDPs and a Concordia fluffy microme-teorite

Oxidation stability of jet fuel model molecules evaluated by rapid small scale oxidation tests.

Jet fuel, besides its fuel role, can be used as a coolant for aircraft subsystems and thus it may be exposed to temperatures above 200 °C. Between 140 and 300 °C, an autoxidation phenomenon occurs due to the presence of 70 ppm of dissolved dioxygen in jet fuel resulting in the formation of oxidized products and solid deposits. The aim of this work is to study the behavior of jet fuel model molecules in order to highlight their oxidation sensitivity and the solid products formed. A rapid small scale oxidation test (RSSOT) is used. Within the RSSOT's test chamber, 5 mL of fuel is combined with oxygen, at 700 kPa, and heated up to 150 °C. This initiates a fast oxidation process. As the fuel oxidizes, it consumes the dioxygen resulting in a pressure drop that is recorded. Different tests are carried out and stopped at various values of time. Gaseous and liquid samples are recovered and analyzed by gas chromatography. In the case of n-dodecane, its consumption is observed up to a pressure drop of 64 %. At the same time, oxidized products are formed among which are alcohols, ketones and carboxylic acids. The gas analysis shows that all the dioxygen has been consumed. Oxydation reactions stop and new reactions appear. They are aldehyde decarbonylations and condensation reactions. Heavy products like esters and lactones are formed

Development of a device for helium thermal diffusion investigations by IBA in self-irradiated nuclear glass

International audienceAbstract To minimize the amount of nuclear waste issuing from the nuclear power plants, the solution adopted in France consists in the reprocessing of spent fuel to isolate long lived and high level radioactive waste (minor actinides and fission products). They are incorporated into a glassy matrix in order to be placed in dedicated long-term disposal repository. The confinement of the radioelements depends strongly on the integrity of the glassy matrix which could be damaged by the radiations and the generation of helium produced by α-decays of the minor actinides. In the past few years, several studies were conducted in order to understand the behaviour of helium, especially its thermal diffusion into the glassy matrix [1–3]. However none were conducted on self-irradiated samples and a validation on radioactive glasses and in the temperature range of the repository conditions is still needed. For this purpose, a specific setup was developed on the analysis chamber of the nuclear microprobe dedicated to radioactive samples in Saclay [4]. The temperature of the sample is controlled during all the experiment, in the range from 143 to 323 K; 3He ions are implanted at low temperature. Helium profiles are measured at low temperature using the 3He(d,p)4He reaction, as-implanted and after several stages of annealing. We will present the developed setup and show the preliminary results of the measurements made on non-active samples

High genetic diversity but limited gene flow in Flemish populations of the crested newt, Triturus cristatus

Habitat destruction and fragmentation are among the major causes of amphibian decline. We investigated to what extent geographic distance and barriers affect the genetic composition of the crested newt, Triturus cristatus in Flanders (North Belgium), causing inbreeding or loss of genetic diversity. Data from seven microsatellite loci and 170 individuals from seven meta-populations up to 180km apart revealed heterozygosities of 0.53 to 0.67 within populations and moderate levels of genetic divergence between populations (F(ST) values from 0.074 to 0.141, harmonic means of D(est) between 0.070 and 0.189). In all Flemish meta-populations, more than 90% of the individuals from a given geographic region were assigned to the same genetic cluster indicating little genetic exchange, even in De Panne where the two populations Oosthoek and Westhoek are only a few kilometres apart. Such sub-structuring on a micro-scale has also been described in other amphibians. Unique alleles in most populations further support the probability that genetic drift has already led to some isolation. With the exception of the Oosthoek population, however, we found no significant evidence for bottlenecks. Connectivity within pool clusters seems essential to the maintenance of genetic diversity in crested newts as is indicated by our findings from Tommelen, the population with the largest number of pools in close proximity, which also shows the highest levels of heterozygosity (H(e) and H(o)) and the second highest number and richness of alleles. In conclusion, our study indicates that dispersal and migration rates between the Flemish populations of Triturus cristatus are limited at the geographic scale studied here but that habitat fragmentation has not yet led to a significant loss of genetic diversity of the studied Flemish populations, possibly because crested newts are relatively long-lived, fragmentation of their habitat is relatively recent in Flanders, and most investigated pools are still connected at the local scale

Dehydration Melting Below the Undersaturated Transition Zone

International audienceA reflector 70-130 km below the base of the transition zone beneath Tibet is observed in receiver functions and underside seismic reflections, at depths consistent with the transition of garnet to bridgmanite. Contrast in water storage capacity between the minerals of the Earth's transition zone and lower mantle suggests the possibility for dehydration melting at the top of the lower mantle. First-principles calculations combined with laboratory synthesis experiments constrain the mantle water capacity across the base of the transition zone and into the top of the lower mantle. We interpret the observed seismic signal as consistent with 3-4 vol % hydrous melt resulting from dehydration melting in the garnet to bridgmanite transition. Should seismic signals evident in downwelling region result from water contents representative of upper mantle water globally, this constrains the water stored in nominally anhydrous minerals in the mantle to <30% the mass of the surface oceans. Plain Language Summary The dynamic mantle circulates material between the upper and lower mantle. At 70-130 km below the upper-to-lower mantle boundary, seismic waves indicate an abrupt change in the material properties of the mantle at that depth. We offer a new interpretation of these seismic signals through the calculation of the effects of water on the materials moving from the upper into the lower mantle, which suggests that the decrease in water storage upon pressure-induced breakdown of garnet can explain the observations through the generation of deep melt. Together with the synthesis of water-bearing garnet at the relevant pressures, we demonstrate that the synthesis of the observations suggest that the mantle may be significantly limited in water storage, with as little as 30% of the water that is found at the surface of the Earth