Tannin- caprolactam and Tannin- PEG formulations as outdoor wood preservatives: Biological Properties

Key Message: This article presents the enhancement in boron fixation as well as the improved biological resistance against fungi and termites for wood samples treated with tannin-caprolactam and tannin-PEG formulations. Context: Although the recently developed tannin-boron wood preservatives have shown high biological protection, they presented also average resistance against weathering. The tannin-caprolactam formulations have shown improved weathering resistances and dimensional stability. Aims: For this reason, more detailed biological tests were performed to evaluate the influence of the caprolactam and PEG on the biological resistance. Methods: In this paper, the boron leaching of the tannin-caprolactam and tannin-PEG impregnated Scots pine specimens was observed and the biocidal effect against fungi (Antrodia spp. and Coniophora puteana) and insects (Reticulitermes flavipes and Hylotrupes bajulus) were determined according to the guidelines of EN 113, EN 117, and EN 47. Results: The advanced formulations containing PEG have shown interesting resistance against fungal decay, but very low penetration and weak resistance against larvae while the tannin-caprolactam preservatives have shown overall improved biological performances and higher boron fixations. Conclusion: The biocidal activity of the caprolactam-added formulations was overall enhanced and therefore these formulations are confirmed to be an interesting alternative for the wood preservation in outdoor environment. (Résumé d'auteur

Space and Time Variability of Detachment-Versus Ramp-Dominated Thrusting: Insights From the Outer Albanides

Despite their markedly different structural setting, the northern and southern outer Albanides share a common tectonic evolution from detachment-dominated to ramp-dominated, basement-involved thrusting. The former process (mainly Oligocene to Miocene) is essentially related with the occurrence of a thick decollement level represented by Triassic evaporites, while the latter involves basement ramps splaying out from a middle crustal decollement. As this weak crustal layer is inherited from the Mesozoic rifting stage, the original continental margin architecture is interpreted to strongly influence subsequent convergent deformation. The profoundly different nature of the two dominant decollements in the study area controlled the structural style of the fold and thrust belt. The decoupling capacity of the upper decollement is strongly dependent on the thickness of the Triassic evaporites. Where this is significant (>> 1 km; southern outer Albanides), the occurrence of such a thick incompetent layer at the base of competent carbonate units favored the development of break-thrust folds and imbrication of the sedimentary cover. Fold and thrust belt propagation was instead hindered where original stratigraphic variations resulted in a reduced thickness (<= 1 km) of Triassic evaporites. On the other hand, the deeper middle crustal decollement is controlled by basement rheology. Its reactivation during plate convergence was assisted by collision-related thermal weakening of the crust. This process governed late-stage (<5 Ma) crustal-scale tectonic inversion and plays a major role in controlling present-day seismicity

Tannin- caprolactam and Tannin- PEG formulations as outdoor wood preservatives: Weathering properties

International audienceAbstractKey messageThis article presents the leaching, fire and weathering resistance improvements of samples treated with tannin-based wood preservatives added of caprolactam. PEG-added formulations show limited applicability. The FT-IR and13C-NMR analyses of the caprolactam-added formulations show some evidences of copolymerization.ContextTannin-boron wood preservatives are known for their high resistance against leaching, biological attacks, fire as well as for the good mechanical properties that they impart to wood. These properties promoted these formulations for being a candidate for the protection of green buildings. However, the low elasticity of these polymers and their dark colour implied limited weathering resistances.AimsThe aim of the study is to find suitable additives for tannin-based formulations to overcome their limited weathering resistances, without compromising the other properties.MethodsTreatment, leaching and fire tests, dimensional stability as well as artificial and natural weathering of the timber treated with caprolactam-added and PEG-added formulations were performed. FT-IR and 13C-NMR of the formulations were presented.ResultsThe presence of caprolactam improved the properties of the formulation with particularly significant results in terms of resistance against leaching and dimensional stability. These enhancements were imparted also to the weathering resistance of the tannin-caprolactam formulations. Indeed, the colour changes during the artificial and natural exposures were stable for longer periods. FT-IR and 13C-NMR investigations of the advanced formulations were led, and covalent copolymerization of the caprolactam with the tannin-hexamine polymer was observed.ConclusionThe tannin formulations with caprolactam improved the durability of the wood specimens, while the PEG-tannin presented strong application drawbacks

Predicting and harnessing protein flexibility in the design of species-specific inhibitors of thymidylate synthase1,21Escherichia coli thymidylate synthase numbering is used unless otherwise noted.2PDB coordinates have been deposited with the RCSB with accession ID: 1JG0.

AbstractBackground: Protein plasticity in response to ligand binding abrogates the notion of a rigid receptor site. Thus, computational docking alone misses important prospective drug design leads. Bacterial-specific inhibitors of an essential enzyme, thymidylate synthase (TS), were developed using a combination of computer-based screening followed by in-parallel synthetic elaboration and enzyme assay [Tondi et al. (1999) Chem. Biol. 6, 319–331]. Specificity was achieved through protein plasticity and despite the very high sequence conservation of the enzyme between species.Results: The most potent of the inhibitors synthesized, N,O-didansyl-L-tyrosine (DDT), binds to Lactobacillus casei TS (LcTS) with 35-fold higher affinity and to Escherichia coli TS (EcTS) with 24-fold higher affinity than to human TS (hTS). To reveal the molecular basis for this specificity, we have determined the crystal structure of EcTS complexed with DDT and 2′-deoxyuridine-5′-monophosphate (dUMP). The 2.0 Å structure shows that DDT binds to EcTS in a conformation not predicted by molecular docking studies and substantially differently than other TS inhibitors. Binding of DDT is accompanied by large rearrangements of the protein both near and distal to the enzyme’s active site with movement of Cα carbons up to 6 Å relative to other ternary complexes. This protein plasticity results in novel interactions with DDT including the formation of hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions to residues conserved in bacterial TS but not hTS and which are hypothesized to account for DDT’s specificity. The conformation DDT adopts when bound to EcTS explains the activity of several other LcTS inhibitors synthesized in-parallel with DDT suggesting that DDT binds to the two enzymes in similar orientations.Conclusions: Dramatic protein rearrangements involving both main and side chain atoms play an important role in the recognition of DDT by EcTS and highlight the importance of incorporating protein plasticity in drug design. The crystal structure of the EcTS/dUMP/DDT complex is a model system to develop more selective TS inhibitors aimed at pathogenic bacterial species. The crystal structure also suggests a general formula for identifying regions of TS and other enzymes that may be treated as flexible to aid in computational methods of drug discovery

Body representation, eating attitudes and BMI in adolescence

This research aims to investigate, in a population of adolescents, the body’s representations, the representations of the relationship with food, the characteristics of dietary habits, body image perceived body image as real as possible predictors of behavior disorders food in the same age group. We recruited 100 children (mean age 16.3 sd = 1.51), by the school to which they belong. We ‘measured the BMI (Body Mass Index), the semantic differential on the body representation, one on food relationship and test EAT. This study showed that the representation of the body is extremely sensitive in the adolescent population, the figure body itself in relation to BMI and not eating habits. This result implies that adolescent prevention should be focused on the representation on that body rather than eating habit

Cardiac cycle efficiency as prognostic index in ICUs

We implement a beam steering system based on a directly-modulated unseeded R-SOA, allowing the distribution of 2.4 GHz 64QAM OFDMA signals with 2048-subcarriers satisfying IEEE 802.16e specifications

\u201cA step further in the discovery of phthalein derivatives as Thymidylate Synthase inhibitors\u201d

Phenolphthalein (Pth) was discovered as a low micromolar inhibitor of the enzyme ThymidylateSynthase (TS), an important target for anticancer chemotherapy. In the present work, a newseries of Pth derivatives have been designed and synthesized. All the compounds have beencharacterized through NMR techniques. A set of twelve Pth derivatives has been tested againstthree TS enzymes and their bio-profiles obtained. The bio-profiling studies suggest that theinhibitory potency of the compounds has been improved of about fifty times againstLactobacillus casei TS (LcTS) and five times against humant TS (hTS) with respect to the lead.The most active compound shows an inhibition constant (Ki) of 70 nM against Escherichia coliTS (EcTS)