Film-Forming Amines for the Corrosion Protection of Carbon Steels in Nuclear Power Plant Secondary Circuit Conditions: An Impedance Study

Octadecylamine (ODA) has been the subject of numerous investigations for the corrosion protection of carbon steels in nuclear pressurized water reactors (PWR). In the present work, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to study and to compare the ODA behavior after different treatment temperatures (from 80 °C to 275 °C) representative of the secondary circuit of the PWR. The ODA films were characterized at room temperature. The impedance data analysis allowed the ODA film parameters (thickness and permittivity) to be obtained. The ODA film thickness was independent of the treatment conditions and was about 20 nm. At 120 °C and 220 °C, the presence of magnetite, formed during the treatment in the autoclave, strongly improved the corrosion protection afforded by the ODA films. An instantaneous inhibitive efficiency of 99.9% was assessed. At 275 °C, thermal degradation of the ODA molecules was shown

Impedance analysis of film-forming amines for the corrosion protection of a carbon steel

Octadecylamine (ODA) is a well-known organic inhibitor for the corrosion protection of carbon steels. In the present study, electrochemical impedance data analysis was performed to extract physical parameters of the ODA thin film that formed on a P275 carbon steel surface. First, surface observations and contact angle measurements showed the steel surface modification after the ODA treatment linked to the adsorption of an organic hydrophobic thin film. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the presence of a very thin organic layer and revealed the presence of iron oxide/hydroxide underlying the ODA film. The impedance data analysis with a power-law distribution of resistivity in the organic film allowed the permittivity and thickness to be extracted. Finally, from the impedance results with and without ODA, the instantaneous corrosion inhibition efficiency was determined

LPS-TLR4 Pathway mediates ductular cell expansion in alcoholic hepatitis.

Alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is the most severe form of alcoholic liver disease for which there are no effective therapies. Patients with AH show impaired hepatocyte proliferation, expansion of inefficient ductular cells and high lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels. It is unknown whether LPS mediates ductular cell expansion. We performed transcriptome studies and identified keratin 23 (KRT23) as a new ductular cell marker. KRT23 expression correlated with mortality and LPS serum levels. LPS-TLR4 pathway role in ductular cell expansion was assessed in human and mouse progenitor cells, liver slices and liver injured TLR4 KO mice. In AH patients, ductular cell expansion correlated with portal hypertension and collagen expression. Functional studies in ductular cells showed that KRT23 regulates collagen expression. These results support a role for LPS-TLR4 pathway in promoting ductular reaction in AH. Maneuvers aimed at decreasing LPS serum levels in AH patients could have beneficial effects by preventing ductular reaction development

Changes in the global hospitalisation burden of respiratory syncytial virus in young children during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic analysis

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was reported to have impacted RSV epidemiology and could have important implications for RSV prevention and control strategies. We aimed to understand the RSV-associated acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) hospitalisation burden in children younger than five years during the COVID-19 pandemic period and the possible changes in RSV epidemiology from a global perspective.Methods We conducted a systematic literature search for studies published between January 1, 2020 and June 30, 2022, from MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), Global Health (Ovid), Web of Science, WHO COVID-19 database, CINAHL, LILACS, OpenGrey, CNKI, WanFang and ChongqingVIP. We included unpublished RSV epidemiology data shared by international collaborators. Eligible studies reported data for RSV-associated ALRI hospital admission rates or at least one of the following severity measures: the proportion of RSV cases that needed supplemental oxygen, mechanical ventilation or intensive care unit admission, and in-hospital case fatality ratio. A generalised linear mixed-effects model was used for data synthesis to understand the changes in the incidence, age distribution and severity of RSV-associated ALRI hospitalisations in children under five years during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to the year 2019. Findings We included 61 studies, 14 studies from published literature and 47 unpublished datasets. Most studies (51/61) were from the high-income region, followed by the upper-middle-income region (9/61); only one study was from the lower-middle-income region, and no studies were from the low-income region. Compared to 2019, all income regions saw substantial decreases in RSV-associated ALRI hospitalisation rate across all age groups in 2020; the number of RSV-associated ALRI hospitalisations in children aged 0–&lt;60 months decreased by approximately 80% (325,000 to 66,000), 14% (581,000 to 501,000) and 42% (1,378,000 to 795,000) for high-income, upper-middle-income and lower-middle-income countries, respectively. RSV hospitalisation rate started to rise in 2021, and by March 2022, the annualised rate returned to a level comparable to 2019 (6·0/1000, 95% uncertainty interval [UI] 5·4–6·8 by March 2022 vs 5·0/1000, 3·6–6·8 in 2019) in high-income countries while remaining lower in middle-income countries. Across all time periods and income regions, RSV-associated ALRI hospitalisation rates peaked in infants aged 0–&lt;3 months and declined with increasing age. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, there was a significantly increased proportion of RSV-associated ALRI hospitalisations in those aged 12–&lt;24 months in high-income and upper-middle-income regions (ORs ranged from 1·30 [1·07–1·59] to 2·05 [1·66–2·54]). No consistent changes in disease severity were observed. Interpretation Our study documented a significant reduction in RSV-associated ALRI hospitalisation burden in children under five years during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A rebound to pre-pandemic levels in RSV-associated ALRI hospitalisation rate was observed in the high-income region by March 2022 but not in the middle-income region, suggesting a more persistent negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health-care systems and health-care access in middle-income regions. RSV surveillance needs to be established (or re-established) to monitor the changes in RSV epidemiology, particularly in low- and lower-middle-income countries.Funding EU Innovative Medicines Initiative Preparing for RSV Immunisation and Surveillance in Europe (PROMISE); Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation; World Health Organization. <br/

Multiple melting stages and refertilization as indicators for ridge to subduction formation: The New Caledonia ophiolite

International audienceThe origin of the New Caledonia ophiolite (South West Pacific), one of the largest in the world, is controversial. This nappe of ultramafic rocks (300 km long, 50 km wide and 2 km thick) is thrust upon a smaller nappe (Poya terrane) composed of basalts from mid-ocean ridges (MORB), back arc basins (BABB) and ocean islands (OIB). This nappe was tectonically accreted from the subducting plate prior and during the obduction of the ultramafic nappe. The bulk of the ophiolite is composed of highly depleted harzburgites (± dunites) with characteristic U-shaped bulk-rock rare-earth element (REE) patterns that are attributed to their formation in a forearc environment. In contrast, the origin of spoon-shaped REE patterns of lherzolites in the northernmost klippes was unclear. Our new major element and REE data on whole rocks, spinel and clinopyroxene establish the abyssal affinity of these lherzolites. Significant LREE enrichment in the lherzolites is best explained by partial melting in a spreading ridge, followed by near in-situ refertilization from deeper mantle melts. Using equilibrium melting equations, we show that melts extracted from these lherzolites are compositionally similar to the MORB of the Poya terrane. This is used to infer that the ultramafic nappe and the mafic Poya terrane represent oceanic lithosphere of a single marginal basin that formed during the late Cretaceous. In contrast, our spinel data highlights the strong forearc affinities of the most depleted harzburgites whose compositions are best modeled by hydrous melting of a source that had previously experienced depletion in a spreading ridge. The New Caledonian boninites probably formed during this second stage of partial melting. The two melting events in the New Caledonia ophiolite record the rapid transition from oceanic accretion to convergence in the South Loyalty Basin during the Late Paleocene, with initiation of a new subduction zone at or near the ridge axis

Nonsense-Mediated mRNA Decay Impacts MSI-Driven Carcinogenesis and Anti-Tumor Immunity in Colorectal Cancers

Nonsense-mediated mRNA Decay (NMD) degrades mutant mRNAs containing premature termination codon (PTC-mRNAs). Here we evaluate the consequence of NMD activity in colorectal cancers (CRCs) showing microsatellite instability (MSI) whose progression is associated with the accumulation of PTC-mRNAs encoding immunogenic proteins due to frameshift mutations in coding repeat sequences. Inhibition of UPF1, one of the major NMD factors, was achieved by siRNA in the HCT116 MSI CRC cell line and the resulting changes in gene expression were studied using expression microarrays. The impact of NMD activity was also investigated in primary MSI CRCs by quantifying the expression of several mRNAs relative to their mutational status and to endogenous UPF1 and UPF2 expression. Host immunity developed against MSI cancer cells was appreciated by quantifying the number of CD3ε-positive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). UPF1 silencing led to the up-regulation of 1251 genes in HCT116, among which a proportion of them (i.e. 38%) significantly higher than expected by chance contained a coding microsatellite (P<2×10−16). In MSI primary CRCs, UPF1 was significantly over-expressed compared to normal adjacent mucosa (P<0.002). Our data provided evidence for differential decay of PTC-mRNAs compared to wild-type that was positively correlated to UPF1 endogenous expression level (P = 0.02). A negative effect of UPF1 and UPF2 expression on the host's anti-tumor response was observed (P<0.01). Overall, our results show that NMD deeply influences MSI-driven tumorigenesis at the molecular level and indicate a functional negative impact of this system on anti-tumor immunity whose intensity has been recurrently shown to be an independent factor of favorable outcome in CRCs

Plasma antibodies to oral bacteria and risk of pancreatic cancer in a large European prospective cohort study

Objective: Examine the relationship between antibodies to 25 oral bacteria and pancreatic cancer risk in a prospective cohort study. Design: We measured antibodies to oral bacteria in prediagnosis blood samples from 405 pancreatic cancer cases and 416 matched controls, nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study. Analyses were conducted using conditional logistic regression and additionally adjusted for smoking status and body mass index. Results: Individuals with high levels of antibodies against Porphyromonas gingivalis ATTC 53978, a pathogenic periodontal bacteria, had a twofold higher risk of pancreatic cancer than individuals with lower levels of these antibodies (OR 2.14; 95% CI 1.05 to 4.36; >200ng/ml vs 200ng/ml). To explore the association with commensal (non-pathogenic) oral bacteria, we performed a cluster analysis and identified two groups of individuals, based on their antibody profiles. A cluster with overall higher levels of antibodies had a 45% lower risk of pancreatic cancer than a cluster with overall lower levels of antibodies (OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.36 to 0.83). Conclusion: Periodontal disease might increase the risk for pancreatic cancer. Moreover, increased levels of antibodies against specific commensal oral bacteria, which can inhibit growth of pathogenic bacteria, might reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer. Studies are needed to determine whether oral bacteria have direct effects on pancreatic cancer pathogenesis or serve as markers of the immune response

A Modified Sagittal Spine Postural Classification and Its Relationship to Deformities and Spinal Mobility in a Chinese Osteoporotic Population

BACKGROUND: Abnormal posture and spinal mobility have been demonstrated to cause functional impairment in the quality of life, especially in the postmenopausal osteoporotic population. Most of the literature studies focus on either thoracic kyphosis or lumbar lordosis, but not on the change of the entire spinal alignment. Very few articles reported the spinal alignment of Chinese people. The purpose of this study was threefold: to classify the spinal curvature based on the classification system defined by Satoh consisting of the entire spine alignment; to identify the change of trunk mobility; and to relate spinal curvature to balance disorder in a Chinese population. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 450 osteoporotic volunteers were recruited for this study. Spinal range of motion and global curvature were evaluated noninvasively using the Spinal-Mouse® system and sagittal postural deformities were characterized. RESULTS: We found a new spine postural alignment consisting of an increased thoracic kyphosis and decreased lumbar lordosis which we classified as our modified round back. We did not find any of Satoh's type 5 classification in our population. Type 2 sagittal alignment was the most common spinal deformity (38.44%). In standing, thoracic kyphosis angles in types 2 (58.34°) and 3 (58.03°) were the largest and lumbar lordosis angles in types 4 (13.95°) and 5 (-8.61°) were the smallest. The range of flexion (ROF) and range of flexion-extension (ROFE) of types 2 and 3 were usually greater than types 4 and 5, with type 1 being the largest. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The present study classified and compared for the first time the mobility, curvature and balance in a Chinese population based on the entire spine alignment and found types 4 and 5 to present the worst balance and mobility. This study included a new spine postural alignment classification that should be considered in future population studies