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Microbial communities are of major importance in the decomposition of soil organic matter. However, the identities and dynamics of the populations involved are still poorly documented. We investigated, in an 11-month field experiment, how the initial biochemical quality of crop residues could lead to specific decomposition patterns, linking biochemical changes undergone by the crop residues to the respiration, biomass, and genetic structure of the soil microbial communities. Wheat, alfalfa, and rape residues were incorporated into the 0-15 cm layer of the soil of field plots by tilling. Biochemical changes in the residues occurring during degradation were assessed by near-infrared spectroscopy. Qualitative modifications in the genetic structure of the bacterial communities were determined by bacterial-automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis. Bacterial diversity in the three crop residues at early and late stages of decomposition process was further analyzed from a molecular inventory of the 16S rDNA. The decomposition of plant residues in croplands was shown to involve specific biochemical characteristics and microbial community dynamics which were clearly related to the quality of the organic inputs. Decay stage and seasonal shifts occurred by replacement of copiotrophic bacterial groups such as proteobacteria successful on younger residues with those successful on more extensively decayed material such as Actinobacteria. However, relative abundance of proteobacteria depended greatly on the composition of the residues, with a gradient observed from alfalfa to wheat, suggesting that this bacterial group may represent a good indicator of crop residues degradability and modifications during the decomposition process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present work deals with the hydrodynamic behavior of several room-temperature ionic liquids presenting the same bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyles)imide anion, associated with four different cations: 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium, 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium, N-trimethyl-N-propylammonium and 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium cations. Steady state voltammetry was used as an electrochemical technique to characterize mass transfer in both silent and sonicated conditions, using a rotating disk electrode. Results obtained in RTILs media are compared to those acquired in synthetic solutions of controlled viscosity, in order to develop a better understanding of the phenomena involved in such media. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We have investigated in vivo how various viscoelastic parameters that describe the mechanical properties of the human skin may vary with age. Accordingly, we have used a mechanical device that records the torsional extensibility of the skin. When submitted to a low torque, the time-response curve of the skin affords the determination of the immediate extensibility (UE), the immediate recovery (UR), the viscoelastic part of the deformation (UV), the elastic recovery (UR/UE), and the creep relaxation time (τ). Because the skin thickness varies with age and primarily governments the mechanical properties, it was measured through an ultrasound technique at the same sites (forearm) where the torque was applied. The results show that the skin maintains its thickness and extensibility up to the seventh decade as opposed to its elasticity or recovery capacities, which decrease from an early age. The viscous part of the deformation is constant through life, whereas the creep relaxation time decreases linearily with age. Except for skin thickness, no differences in these parameters between men and women were detected. The significance of these results are discussed in terms of structure alterations. The determination of the elastic recovery (UR/UE) appears to be a parameter of choice for illustrating skin aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Frequent land-use changes stimulate priming effect hampering carbon storage targets. • Temporary grassland rotations modify SOM quality and shape microbial communities. • Variance partition models identified predictors of priming effect at landscape scale. • Fluorescence analyses of water soluble SOM identified markers of priming effect. • Rotations including grassland for 40–60% of time were the less prone to priming effect. Soils can act as a carbon sink, and the chemical and biological transformation of vegetal litter into soil organic matter (SOM) is widely influenced by land-use and other biogeochemical parameters. However, the increase of new carbon inputs to soil has the potential to trigger the mineralization of stabilized SOM, a process called priming effect. The objective of this manuscript is to investigate, at a landscape scale (5 km²), the factors influencing the susceptibility of SOM to priming effect. To achieve this objective, physical, chemical, and metagenomics analyses were conducted on 88 soil samples and successively combined with agronomical data and soil incubation for the quantification of carbon fluxes. Variance partitioning models highlighted that priming effect is controlled by complex interactions of biotic and abiotic factors, which include soil chemistry, quality of SOM, shape and abundance of microbial communities. Fluorescence properties of the dissolved organic matter has been found as a strong descriptor for priming effect. Depending on the time of crop rotation devoted to grassland, two different components leading to priming effect were identified. The introduction of grassland for 40–60% of the time of rotation achieved the lowest susceptibility to priming effect, and higher indexes of microbial diversity, whereas higher or lower proportions of time of the rotation devoted to grassland resulted in an increase of priming effect and a decrease of bacterial evenness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patterns of distant metastatic failure of endometrial cancer (EC) by specific anatomic site are not well described in the literature. In this manuscript, we evaluated the metastatic patterns of EC cancer and analysed the potential distribution of metastatic disease in this malignancy., Methods: A total of 1444 women with EC were identified. Of which we extracted women with locoregional and distant recurrence or with distant recurrence alone. Women were scored based on first site of metastasis: multiple versus one site: bone, brain, lung, liver or sus diaphragmatic lymph nodes., Results: 110 women developed distant metastatic disease with (n = 37(33.6%)) or without (n = 73(66.4%)) locoregional recurrence, including 39 women with exclusive first site of metastatic disease and 34 women with multiple sites of metastatic disease. When considering all women, the most common exclusive first site of metastasis was lung (42.8%). The median time to develop distant metastases was shorter after the completion of treatment for exclusive brain metastatic disease compared with other sites of metastatic- disease (7 months vs, 9 for lung, 10 for liver, 19 for bone and 27 months for sus-diaphragmatic LN; P = 0.004). The rate of 3-year overall survival was higher in the sus-diaphragmatic LN metastase group (83.3% vs 50.6% for lung, 37.3% for bone, 16.7% for brain and 0% for liver; P = 0.0059)., Conclusion: The present study has demonstrated the site-specific patterns of metastases. These data support current clinical practice of screening for site-specific metastatic disease after initial treatment of early stage EC based on concerning women-specific signs or symptoms., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Purpose: Predicting the pattern of recurrence can aid in the development of targeted surveillance and treatment strategies. The objectives of this study were to identify patterns of recurrence in women with operable endometrial cancer (EC) and to identify high-risk periods for recurrence in function of age., Patients and Methods: The data of 1153 women who received primary surgical treatment for stage I-III EC between January 2001 and December 2013 were abstracted from a prospectively maintained multicentre database. The time to first recurrence was calculated from the date of diagnosis, and the associated hazard function was examined to determine the peak risk period of recurrence. We categorized age at diagnosis as <65 and ≥ 65 years old and analysed the hazard rate (HR) by stratifying age groups., Results: Women with EC aged ≥65 years maintain a significant recurrence rate during follow-up whatever the stratification (locoregional recurrence, distant recurrence, ESMO/ESGO/ESTRO subgroup). Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression showed that the increased risk of recurrence of EC was associated with advanced age, advanced disease ESMO/ESGO/ESTRO subgroup but not with initial treatment received., Conclusion: The annual HR of recurrence is not uniformly distributed over time but is dynamic and markedly determined by prognostic factors at diagnosis., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd, BASO ~ The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved.)

In a climate change scenario, successful modeling of the relationships between plant-soil-meteorology is crucial for a sustainable agricultural production, especially for perennial crops. Grapevines (Vitis vinifera L. cv Chardonnay) located in eight experimental plots (Burgundy, France) along a hillslope were monitored weekly for 3 years for leaf water potentials, both at predawn (Ψpd) and at midday (Ψstem). The water stress experienced by grapevine was modeled as a function of meteorological data (minimum and maximum temperature, rainfall) and soil characteristics (soil texture, gravel content, slope) by a gradient boosting machine. Model performance was assessed by comparison with carbon isotope discrimination (δ(13)C) of grape sugars at harvest and by the use of a test-set. The developed models reached outstanding prediction performance (RMSE < 0.08 MPa for Ψstem and < 0.06 MPa for Ψpd), comparable to measurement accuracy. Model predictions at a daily time step improved correlation with δ(13)C data, respect to the observed trend at a weekly time scale. The role of each predictor in these models was described in order to understand how temperature, rainfall, soil texture, gravel content and slope affect the grapevine water status in the studied context. This work proposes a straight-forward strategy to simulate plant water stress in field condition, at a local scale; to investigate ecological relationships in the vineyard and adapt cultural practices to future conditions.

A novel, mild "sono-halogenation" of various aromatic compounds with potassium halide was investigated under ultrasound in a biphasic carbon tetrachloride/water medium. The feasibility study was first undertaken with the potassium bromide and then extended to chloride and iodide analogues. This methodology could be considered as a new expansion of the ultrasonic advanced oxidation processes (UAOPs) into a synthetic aspect as the developed methodology is linked to the sonolytic disappearance of carbon tetrachloride. Advantages of the present method are not only that the manipulation of the bromination is simple and green, but also that the halogenating agents used are readily available, inexpensive, and easy-handling., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this exploratory work, the comparison of the utilisation of different non-conventional technologies (ultrasound and microwave irradiations) for the depolymerisation of a complex industrial starch-based waste into reducing sugars was investigated. Reducing sugars could then be converted into higher value-added compounds such as higher alcohols. The experiments were performed on three different starting materials named as 'Potato flour', 'Wet potato sludge' and 'Dry potato sludge'. The conversion of 'Potato flour' into reducing sugars reached in acidic conditions 61% within an hour under microwave irradiation, 70% and 84% within 120 min under low and high frequency ultrasonic irradiation, respectively., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Three 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-alkylimidazolium chloride room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) [2OHimC(n)][Cl]; (n=0, 1, 4) have been synthesized from the appropriate imidazole precursors and characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopies and elemental analysis. Their anti-microbial activities were investigated using the well-diffusion method. The viabilities of Escherichia coli, Aeromonas hydrophila, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica as a function of IL concentrations were studied. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and EC₅₀ values for the present ILs were within the concentration range from 60 to 125 mM and 23 to 73 mM. The anti-microbial potencies of the present ILs were compared to a standard antibiotic, gentamicin. The finding affords additional perspective on the level of ILs toxicity to aquatic lifeforms and yet, this characteristic can be readily harnessed to detect microbial growth and activity., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To study the changes in skin microrelief and periocular wrinkles during the aging process., Methods: Replicas of the crow's feet area of volunteers were recorded in 1987 and 2008 and observed comparatively. Characteristic features were quantified by image analysis., Results: Observation shows that some microrelief features disappear and even merge with wrinkles that become more marked. Some primary lines also tend to merge to form thin new wrinkles. Quantitative data support these observations: the size of small and medium objects of skin relief decreases with age while large objects are becoming larger., Conclusion: Over 21 years, in the group studied, the total area of the detected objects remains quite constant. Only the distribution between small and large detected objects (microrelief features and wrinkles, respectively) is modified., (© 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)

The Molybdate-catalyzed bromination of various aromatic compounds in the presence of KBr/H(2)O(2) in an aqueous/chloroform biphasic system occurred under ultrasonic irradiation, whereas the reaction did not take place under conventional mechanical stirring (1400 rpm). The sonochemical activation was found to be of secondary effect, attributed to lowering pH by sonolysis of CHCl(3)-H(2)O solvents mixture., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Brønsted-acidic ionic liquids that bear a sulfonic acid group, known as Forbes acids, show a good catalytic activity for the Beckmann rearrangement, used to prepare ε-caprolactam, which is a precursor of Nylon 6. The activity essentially stems from the acidity of the sulfonic acid group. Although these task specific ionic liquids suffer from a high viscosity, this drawback can be circumvented at higher temperatures. A combination of the hydrogen sulfate anion and the sulfonic acid group of the cation is needed to obtain the rearrangement product rapidly under mild conditions. When using an excess of ionic liquid, we postulate that the internal pressure of the ionic medium, generated by the high viscosity and the high number of hydrogen-bonds, is strong enough to contribute to a decrease of the thermodynamic barrier. In accordance with the "Principles of Green Chemistry," we have developed a synthesis of ε-caprolactam that requires no additional chemicals except cyclohexanone oxime and the reusable TSIL.

An original route to 2-alkyamino-4-phenylquinazolines in three steps from simple (hetero)aromatic amines is reported here. The key step involves the intramolecular cyclization of benzoyl arylguanidines performed in [OMIm]Cl ionic liquid. The basic (hetero)aromatic guanidines deprotonate the imidazolium-based ionic liquid, thus triggering the cascade process ultimately leading to the intramolecular cyclization. This reaction is the first example of a Friedel-Crafts-type reaction in which an N-heterocyclic carbene is involved in the formation of the electrophilic intermediate.

Thanks to the recently introduced silicone image sensor technology, skin capacitance imaging has now been made possible. The dedicated device is called SkinChip. This method is easy to handle and provides information about the skin microrelief, the level of stratum corneum hydration and the sweat gland activity. The apparatus sees and measures these parameters with a 50 microm resolution. A series of conditions have been explored using skin capacitance imaging. This review summarizes relevant findings about regional variability on the body, changes occurring with ageing, effects of a hydrating formulation, reactivity kinetics of corneocytes to surfactants, acne and skin pores characteristics, as well as hyperkeratotic dermatoses and tumours.

Tumors could use several mechanisms to coexist with the host's immune system or to protect themselves from an immune response. Thus, insufficient expression of cell surface molecules on tumor cells, which are important for T cell recognition or activation, could lead to induction of a state of tolerance. Tumor cells could also produce cytokines that would inhibit the immune response and allow tumor progression. Here, we studied, in vitro, the cell surface expression of immunologically important molecules in seven ovarian carcinoma (OVCA) cell lines and the constitutive expression of cytokines. All OVCA cell lines expressed MHC class I molecules, ICAM-1 and LFA-3 adhesion molecules, necessary to induce a specific cytotoxic T-cell response, as well as the CD40 costimulatory molecules. Conversely, the lack of the dominant costimulatory molecules, CD80 (B7.1) and CD86 (B7.2) could be a possible explanation of poor immunogenicity of OVCA tumors. Immunosuppressive TGF-beta1 was detected at the mRNA level in all cell lines but was weakly secreted in supernatants. By contrast, IL-10 was never found. Most of them constitutively produced IL-8 and IL-6, two cytokines known as tumor promoting factors whereas the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and GM-CSF were rarely produced. Data from this study could be useful for designing new strategies of immunotherapy to improve immunogenicity and/or limit protumor cytokine production., (Copyright John Libbey Eurotext 2003.)

Background/aims: Touching the skin is of great importance for the Clinician for assessing roughness, softness, firmness, etc. This type of clinical assessment is very subjective and therefore non-reproducible from one Clinician to another one or even from time to time for the same Clinician. In order to objectively monitor skin texture, we developed a new sensor, placed directly on the Clinician's finger, which generate some electric signal when slid over the skin surface., Material and Methods: The base of this Haptic Finger sensor is a thin stainless steel plate on which sponge rubber, PVDF foil, acetate film and gauze are layered. The signal generated by the sensor was filtered and digitally stored before processing. In a first in vitro experiment, the sensor was moved over different skin models (sponge rubber covered by silicon rubber) of varying hardness and roughness. These experiments allowed the definition of two parameters characterizing textures. The first parameter is variance of the signal processed using wavelet analysis, representing an index of roughness. The second parameter is dispersion of the power spectrum density in the frequency domain, corresponding to hardness. To validate these parameters, the Haptic Finger was used to scan skin surfaces of 30 people, 14 of whom displayed a skin disorder: xerosis (n = 5), atopic dermatitis (n = 7), and psoriasis (n = 2)., Results and Conclusion: The results obtained by means of the sensor were compared with subjective, clinical evaluations by a Clinician who scored both roughness and hardness of the skin. Good agreement was observed between clinical assessment of the skin and the two parameters generated using the Haptic Finger. Use of this sensor could prove extremely valuable in cosmetic research where skin surface texture (in terms of tactile properties) is difficult to measure.

This paper presents a computational model for studying the mechanical properties of skin with aging. In particular, attention is given to the folding capacity of skin, which may be manifested as wrinkles. The simulation provides visual results demonstrating the form and density of folds under the various conditions. This can help in the consideration of proper measures for a cosmetic product for the skin.

Background: Comparisons of clinical assessment with measurement of physical parameters are rare., Objective: To standardize the horizontal wrinkling of the skin in order to define a reference chart of the different wrinkling grades and to propose an interpretation of the clinical pattern in terms of skin layers thickness and mechanical parameters., Methods: A device allowing reproducible wrinkling of the skin was made. The skin folds created in this way were clinically assessed on women of different ages. Measurements of the mechanical properties of the skin were carried out by using a Torquemeter. Skin layers' thicknesses were measured by using in vivo Confocal Microscopy (CM) and Ultrasound Imaging (B mode)., Results: Skin wrinkling grades increase versus age. Skin elasticity, extensibility and echogenicity decrease also versus age and the wrinkling grade. Wrinkling appears to be related to skin rigidification (for both stratum corneum and dermis) coupled to a certain weakening of the upper dermis (loss of echogenicity)., Conclusion: This study points out the key role of the age-related alterations of the upper dermis in skin wrinkling capacities.