Presence of metals in biomass residues after pyrolysis

In contribution to research into renewable energy, pyrolysis tests are run to develop the process of pyrolysis of biomass allowing the production of Hydrogen. Various families of combustibles (oleaginous, lignocellulosics, and seeds) have been tested at different temperatures. The pyrolysis of biomass is hampered by technical problems such as the blockage of the furnace by tars. The residues are collected and treated in a solution of chloric and nitric acid, so that the mineral part is extracted and then analysed by ICP. The first results indicate the presence ofmetals: Ni, Mg, Zn, Mn, Fe... Various proposais for the use of these residues so as to avoid pollution due to their accumulation have been put forward. These ashes can be recombined with fuels, acting as catalysts to reduce the formation of tar and increase the production of hydrogen

A year of lava fountaining at Etna: Volumes from SEVIRI

We present a new method that uses cooling curves, apparent in high temporal resolution thermal data acquired by geostationary sensors, to estimate erupted volumes and mean output rates during short lava fountaining events. The 15 minute temporal resolution of the data allows phases of waxing and peak activity to be identified during short (150-to- 810 minute-long) events. Cooling curves, which decay over 8-to-21 hour-periods following the fountaining event, can also be identified. Application to 19 fountaining events recorded at Etna by MSG’s SEVIRI sensor between 10 January 2011 and 9 January 2012, yields a total erupted dense rock lava volume of 28 106 m3, with a maximum intensity of 227 m3 s 1 being obtained for the 12 August 2011 event. The timeaveraged output over the year was 0.9 m3 s 1, this being the same as the rate that has characterized Etna’s effusive activity for the last 40 years

Cloning of the mouse BTG3 gene and definition of a new gene family (the BTG family) involved in the negative control of the cell cycle

International audienc

Quantitative Real-Time Reverse Transcription-PCR Assay for the Expression of Tob mRNA in Human Colorectal Cancer

OBJECTIVE Tob is a member of Tob/BTG antiproliferative family. To date, Tob expression in human carcinoma using clinical specimens has not been studied in depth except for lung carcinoma and thyroid carcinoma. This study is the first to investigate the expression levels of Tob gene in human colorectal cancer tissues, and their corresponding para-cancerous tissues. The correlation of expression of the Tob gene with clinicopathological characteristics of colorectal cancer was also analyzed. METHODS Quantitative real time RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of Tob mRNA in 31 colorectal cancers. RESULTS Compared with normal tissues, up-regulation of Tob mRNA was observed in 31 colorectal cancer tissues (P =0.020). The expression level of Tob at Dukes C + D phase was higher than Dukes A + B phase, and the difference was signifi cant (P < 0.05). However, in this study, it was found that the expression of Tob mRNA was not related with age, gender, and pathological type of colorectal cancer. CONCLUSION The up-regulation of Tob may be closely associated with tumorigenesis of colorectal carcinoma

What Is SIMBAD, and What Is It Not?

International audienceThe purpose of the SIMBAD database is to provide the bibliography and some fundamental data on astronomical objects of interest which have been studied in scientific articles. It includes objects of any nature, stars - galaxies - interstellar medium - transient events - etc. SIMBAD is a meta-compilation built from what is published in the literature, and from our expertise on cross-identifications. It is a dynamic database, updated every working day. By construction its content is heterogeneous as data come from any kind of instruments at all wavelengths with any resolution and astrometry, and different names from one publication to another. Thus SIMBAD is not a catalogue, and should not be used as a catalogue. It is not the purpose of SIMBAD to contain “everything”. Especially, lists of uncharacterised sources detected in photometric surveys of any size are usually not processed in SIMBAD. But they are available at CDS in the VizieR database which contains published tables of objects, as well as most very large surveys. The idea now is to use both SIMBAD and VizieR as complementary research tools