Physico-chemical modifications of the interactions between hemp fibres and a lime mineral matrix: impacts on mechanical properties of mortars

International audienceIn order to understand the physico-chemical mechanisms governing interactions between hemp fibres and a lime-based mineral matrix, the consequences of various chemical treatments onto hemp fibres characteristics were measured using scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction and FTIR spectroscopy. Secondly, effects of these treatments on the mechanical properties of lime mortars incorporating the chemically modified fibres were evaluated using 3 point bending tests. NaOH and EDTA treatments increase the crystallinity index of hemp fibres and increase the experimental rigidity of lime/natural fibres mortars. Treatments with polyethylene imine and a saturated lime solution do not induce any significant changes onto the mechanical properties. These results show that some specific chemical treatments have an impact onto the hemp/lime interfaces quality. The elaborated composite materials exhibit a higher rigidity and an improvement of the matrix /fibre charge transfer. However, the rupture stress is only slightly modified due to a relatively low fibre volumic content (10 %)

Beyond aspect: will be -ing and shall be -ing

This article discusses the synchronic status and diachronic development of will be -ing and shall be -ing (as in I’ll be leaving at noon).2 Although available since at least Middle English, the constructions did not establish a significant foothold in standard English until the twentieth century. Both types are also more prevalent in British English (BrE) than American English (AmE). We argue that in present-day usage will/shall be -ing are aspectually underspecified: instances that clearly construe a situation as future-in-progress are in the minority. Similarly, although volition-neutrality has been identified as a key feature of will/shall be -ing, it is important to take account of other, generally richer meanings and associations, notably ‘future-as-matter-of-course’ (Leech 2004), ‘already-decided future’ (Huddleston & Pullum et al. 2002) and non-agentivity. Like volition-neutrality, these characteristics appear to be relevant not only in contemporary use, but also in their historical expansion. We show that the construction has evolved from progressive aspect towards more subjectivised evidential meaning

Propriétés mécaniques de matériaux enchevêtrés à base de fibre de chanvre et matrice cimentaire

La compréhension des mécanismes d'interactions entre les fibres et la matrice cimentaire est indispensable afin de mieux appréhender le comportement mécanique du composite. Les fibres de chanvre, par une forte teneur en pectine, fixent sur leur surface les ions calcium Ca2+ et les ions hydroxyles OH-. On observe un déficit en ions hydroxydes et calcium dans la phase interstitielle, entraînant une inhibition des hydrates de silicate de calcium (CSH) et, par conséquent, induisant des retards de prise. Le milieu alcalin, imposé par le ciment, élimine les sucres circulants à la surface des fibres et dégrade les hémicelluloses, ce qui permet d'augmenter la rugosité des fibres. La fixation des ions calcium à la surface des fibres se traduit par une forte adhésion entre ces dernières et la matrice cimentaire. Il en résulte une amélioration des propriétés mécaniques du composite. Ces composites possèdent une grande souplesse ainsi qu'une plus grande résistance en flexion que le ciment seul, caractéristiques très intéressantes pour certaines applications du bâtimen

Best practice coral restoration for the Great Barrier Reef

As the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) continues to degrade through repeated mass bleaching events, crown-of-thorns starfish and major disease outbreaks, and the impacts of intense cyclones, pressure is growing for direct intervention to assist the recovery of reef-building corals. Decreasing coral cover on the GBR and other Australian reefs has been recognised as a serious problem relatively recently in Australia but follows a global trend, with many overseas reefs now highly degraded. Various types of coral restoration, rehabilitation and assisted recovery projects have been trialled overseas for decades and it makes sense to look at what has and hasn’t worked overseas to determine a range of options that may suit GBR conditions. Some direct interventions to assist coral recovery have been trialled in Australia such as transplanting corals, algae removal to promote coral recovery and larval enhancement promoting direct coral recruitment. In addition, after physical damage from cyclones, ship strikes or dragged anchors, local dive operators and dive clubs (permitted or unpermitted) often attempt to assist the recovery of corals by tipping over flipped tabular corals and reattaching broken branching corals or sea fans. These latter assisted recovery techniques are rarely underpinned by scientific data on coral recovery. A lack of best practice guidelines for these actions limits the chance of success and increases the health and safety risks of these activities

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Sensing Mechanism Is Activated in Entamoeba histolytica upon Treatment with Nitric Oxide

The Endoplasmic Reticulum stores calcium and is a site of protein synthesis and modification. Changes in ER homeostasis lead to stress responses with an activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR). The Entamoeba histolytica endomembrane system is simple compared to those of higher eukaryotes, as a canonical ER is not observed. During amoebiasis, an infection of the human intestine and liver by E. histolytica, nitric oxide (NO) triggers an apoptotic-like event preceded by an impairment of energy production and a loss of important parasite pathogenic features. We address the question of how this ancient eukaryote responds to stress induced by immune components (i.e. NO) and whether stress leads to ER changes and subsequently to an UPR. Gene expression analysis suggested that NO triggers stress responses marked by (i) dramatic up-regulation of hsp genes although a bona fide UPR is absent; (ii) induction of DNA repair and redox gene expression and iii) up-regulation of glycolysis-related gene expression. Enzymology approaches demonstrate that NO directly inhibits glycolysis and enhance cysteine synthase activity. Using live imaging and confocal microscopy we found that NO dramatically provokes extensive ER fragmentation. ER fission in E. histolytica appears as a protective response against stress, as it has been recently proposed for neuron self-defense during neurologic disorders. Chronic ER stress is also involved in metabolic diseases including diabetes, where NO production reduces ER calcium levels and activates cell death. Our data highlighted unique cellular responses of interest to understand the mechanisms of parasite death during amoebiasis

Mainshocks are aftershocks of conditional foreshocks: How do foreshock statistical properties emerge from aftershock laws

The inverse Omori law for foreshocks discovered in the 1970s states that the rate of earthquakes prior to a mainshock increases on average as a power law ~ 1/(t_c-t)^p' of the time to the mainshock occurring at t_c. Here, we show that this law results from the direct Omori law for aftershocks describing the power law decay ~ 1/(t-t_c)^p of seismicity after an earthquake, provided that any earthquake can trigger its suit of aftershocks. In this picture, the seismic activity at any time is the sum of the spontaneous tectonic loading and of the activity triggered by all preceding events weighted by their corresponding Omori law. The inverse Omori law then emerges as the expected (in a statistical sense) trajectory of seismicity, conditioned on the fact that it leads to the burst of seismic activity accompanying the mainshock. The often documented apparent decrease of the b-value of the GR law at the approach to the main shock results straightforwardly from the conditioning of the path of seismic activity culminating at the mainshock. In the space domain, we predict that the phenomenon of aftershock diffusion must have its mirror process reflected into an inward migration of foreshocks towards the mainshock. In this model, foreshock sequences are special aftershock sequences which are modified by the condition to end up in a burst of seismicity associated with the mainshock.Comment: Latex document of 35 pages, 10 figure

Sub-critical and Super-critical Regimes in Epidemic Models of Earthquake Aftershocks

We present an analytical solution and numerical tests of the epidemic-type aftershock (ETAS) model for aftershocks, which describes foreshocks, aftershocks and mainshocks on the same footing. The occurrence rate of aftershocks triggered by a single mainshock decreases with the time from the mainshock according to the modified Omori law K/(t+c)^p with p=1+theta. A mainshock at time t=0 triggers aftershocks according to the local Omori law, that in turn trigger their own aftershocks and so on. The effective branching parameter n, defined as the mean aftershock number triggered per event, controls the transition between a sub-critical regime n<1 to a super-critical regime n>1. In the sub-critical regime, we recover and document the crossover from an Omori exponent 1-theta for t<t* to 1+theta for t<t* found previously in [Sornette and Sornette, 1999a] for a special case of the ETAS model. In the super-critical regime n>1 and theta>0, we find a novel transition from an Omori decay law with exponent 1-theta fot t<t* to an explosive exponential increase of the seismicity rate fot t>t*. The case theta<0 yields an infinite n-value. In this case, we find another characteristic time tau controlling the crossover from an Omori law with exponent 1-theta for t<tau, similar to the local law, to an exponential increase at large times. These results can rationalize many of the stylized facts reported for aftershock and foreshock sequences, such as (i) the suggestion that a small p-value may be a precursor of a large earthquake, (ii) the relative seismic quiescence sometimes observed before large aftershocks, (iii) the positive correlation between b and p-values, (iv) the observation that great earthquakes are sometimes preceded by a decrease of b-value and (v) the acceleration of the seismicity preceding great earthquakes.Comment: Latex document of 41 pages + 6 eps figures + 1 tabl

Relation between Plasmodium falciparum asymptomatic infection and malaria attacks in a cohort of Senegalese children

© 2008 Le Port et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Improving Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV Care and Related Services in Eastern Rwanda

Younsook Lim and colleagues describe the Rwanda Learning Collaborative on Child Health, which aimed to improve and extend the impact of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS

Modeling the Influence of Local Environmental Factors on Malaria Transmission in Benin and Its Implications for Cohort Study

Malaria remains endemic in tropical areas, especially in Africa. For the evaluation of new tools and to further our understanding of host-parasite interactions, knowing the environmental risk of transmission—even at a very local scale—is essential. The aim of this study was to assess how malaria transmission is influenced and can be predicted by local climatic and environmental factors