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Desde su inicio en la decada de 1980, la fecundacion in vitro (FIV) convencional ha experimentado un progreso real con una gran expansion en todos los continentes. Hasta la fecha, se han logrado mas de 5 millones de embarazos en todo el mundo despues de la FIV convencional, que actualmente representa el 1-3% de los nacimientos en los paises desarrollados. Aunque los principios basicos de la FIV no han cambiado fundamentalmente, la llegada de nuevas tecnicas ha permitido una evolucion constante de las tecnicas de reproduccion asistida. Asi, la inyeccion intracitoplasmica de un espermatozoide (ICSI) ha llevado a un progreso considerable en el tratamiento de la infertilidad masculina. Ademas, los avances recientes en la criopreservacion, sobre todo gracias al desarrollo de la congelacion ultrarrapida (vitrificacion), han permitido una mejora significativa en las tasas de exito despues de la conservacion de ovocitos o embriones, permitiendo el uso de rutina de cultivos prolongados y la estrategia freeze-all. Ademas, la vitrificacion de los ovocitos ha abierto un nuevo campo para retener los ovocitos y preservar la fertilidad de las mujeres. Sin embargo, algunas situaciones, como los fracasos repetidos en la implantacion, la respuesta ovarica deficiente o la anomalia uterina, todavia no tienen una respuesta clara. Estas limitaciones de la tecnica son objeto de una intensa investigacion. En el contexto de la sociedad actual, surgen nuevos desafios, como el deseo de embarazo tardio o el tratamiento de la infertilidad en el contexto de la obesidad o el tabaquismo. Todos estos procesos estan siempre muy enmarcados en el nivel etico y legal para evitar posibles irregularidades.

Cell-based partial pulp regeneration is one of the promising approaches to obtain newly formed functional dentin-pulp complex. It relies on the preservation of the healthy tissue while regenerating the damaged pulp. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this regenerative process could be achieved by implanting porcine dental pulp cells (pDPCs) in pulp defects in the minipig. By split-mouth model, self-assembling injectable nanopeptide hydrogel, with and without pDPCs, was implanted after cameral pulpotomy in premolars and molars. At day 21 after surgery, 3-dimensional morphometric characterization, Masson's trichrome staining, and immunolabeling for DSP and BSP (dentin sialoprotein and bone sialoprotein) were performed on treated teeth. This study demonstrated no pulp regeneration but systematic reparative dentinogenesis. In fact, regardless of the presence of pDPCs in the scaffold, an osteodentin bridge-the microarchitecture of which significantly differed from the native dentin-was systematically obtained. Furthermore, the presence of pDPCs significantly affected the microstructure of the dentin bridges. In the radicular area of each treated tooth, hyperemia in the remaining pulp and external root resorptions were observed. Under the conditions tested in this work, pulp regeneration was not achieved, which highlights the need of further investigations to develop favorable regenerative microenvironment.

Entire male pigs can accumulate sex specific off odours, i.e. boar taint, caused by the testicular steroid, androstenone, and the product of microbial protein degradation, skatole, which is formed in the large intestine. To avoid the off odour of pork and to reduce male specific behaviour, farmers have traditionally castrated their male piglets surgically and the procedure is still common in most countries. As this has usually been done without any pain relief, this measure faces strong public criticism. European stakeholders committed themselves to end this practice from 2018, but today, 75% of male piglets are still surgically castrated in the EU. Pain relief during and/or after surgery is increasingly used in some Western European countries to avoid suffering of the animals, but the surgery and risk of infections remain. Alternatives without surgical castration in pork production are raising entire males or immunocastration. Entire males have the advantage of a high growth potential and a good feed conversion rate, but the risk of boar taint and welfare problems due to male behavior limit the acceptance by the pork chain. Immunocastration reduces these problems but also decreases, in part, the anabolic advantage of males. To find country-specific, tailored solutions, there is a need to bundle the research activities along the pork chain and to spread scientific information to increase the acceptance of alternatives by farmers, industry and consumers.

Resume Introduction Le but de l’etude etait de determiner l’influence des aberrations totales oculaires sur la capacite d’accommodation residuelle des patients presbytes debutants. Patients et methodes L’etude comportait 20 patients (40 yeux) depourvus de pathologie ophtalmologique, dont l’acuite visuelle corrigee etait superieure a 10/10, d’âge compris entre 48 et 58 ans. Les parametres recueillis comportaient la mesure des aberrations totales (Wavescan®, Visx, AMO, Etats-Unis) ainsi qu’une mesure d’une courbe de defocalisation (acuite visuelle de pres a 30 et 50 cm) realisee avec leur correction optique de loin, adaptee a leur refraction subjective. L’analyse statistique analysait la correlation lineaire multiple des aberrations de haut ordre, independamment de l’âge et de la refraction du patient, sur les parametres de vision de pres. Resultats Meme si l’âge et la refraction sphero-cylindrique etaient correles a la capacite accommodative des patients etudies, la coma semblait etre une variable aberrometrique influente sur l’acuite visuelle de pres a 30 cm sans addition et sur l’addition minimale necessaire pour lire P1,5 a 30 cm (respectivement r2 = 0,117 avec p = 0,035 et r2 = 0,163 avec p = 0,012). Par ailleurs, l’aberration spherique (AS) etait egalement faiblement correlee a l’addition minimale necessaire (r2 = 0,12 avec p = 0,032). Discussion Les refractions spherique et cylindrique avaient une influence sur l’accommodation residuelle du jeune presbyte. Cependant, la coma et l’AS etaient des aberrations de haut ordre egalement correlees a la capacite accommodative residuelle, independamment de l’âge et de la refraction. Conclusion L’ensemble du profil aberrometrique etait non seulement un stimulus de systeme accommodatif mais egalement un facteur influencant la qualite de la reponse et les capacites accommodatives elles-memes.

Introduction/Background Intermittent urinary catheterization is used by patients that have a neurological or malformative bladder for the purpose of renal salvage and urinary continence. Transanal irrigation is used by patient that have neurological or malformative colon for the purpose of fecal continence. The goal of these group workshops is to respond to the feeling of isolation of patients that practice continence care (self or hetero care) by sharing a common experience. Material and method Animation: nurse and psychologist. One hour workshop of roughly 4 patients. Single-sex group broken down by age (7/10, 11/14, 15/18). Main tools: – discussions on care organization in everyday situations; – written personal remarks that are read anonymously and discussed; – brainstorming about care; – other tools depending on patients’ age. Results Nine groups since January 2017. Thirty-seven patients. Average age: 12 years old. Sharing a common experience allows easy and smooth exchanges. The results are not distinct according to the type of care because it is the “group encounter” effect that is significant. Beneficial effects noticed from post-group interviews: – self-esteem: the workshop enables to ensure with others whether it's possible to have a normal life even with care; – relief to speak freely about patient's experience outside family and social circles, feeling that personal experience is understood by the group; – decrease of the shame to practice care and isolation feeling: sense of being part of a group; – sociability: free discussions enables to unlock some social fears; – better acceptance of care. Conclusion The group allows peer identification that make possible to face living with the feeling of “being different from others”. This has beneficial effects on self-confidence, which is essential for the psychic development of the child and the teenager. “When I saw the other girls, I told myself that it was not possible that they also practice care, they seemed so normal”.

Segregation at the loci coding for the K88ab and K88ac small intestinal receptors to E. coli adhesins (K88abR, K88acR) and at the transferrin (TF) locus was studied in 38 pig families including 273 piglets. The TF locus showed a segregation deviation towards the B variant while each of the K88 receptors behaved as a single autosomal dominant gene. Recombinants between K88abR and K88acR provide evidence that they are under the control of two different loci. Thirty-two triple backcross families were selected to test linkage and estimate recombination rates (theta). Our results demonstrate that the two K88 receptor loci are closely linked (theta = 0.02) with a maximum lod score value (Zm) of 46.0. In addition, they are linked to the TF locus, theta = 0.14, Zm = 19.6 for the K88abR locus and theta = 0.16, Zm = 17.9 for the K88acR locus. The estimated recombination rates, smaller in males than in females, are consistent with the order TF-K88abR-K88acR. This linkage thus localizes the K88 loci, as the TF locus, on chromosome 13.

Comme toute activité d’élevage, la production porcine est à l’origine d’effluents qui peuvent avoir un impact sur l’environnement parce qu’ils affectent la qualité de différentes ressources naturelles comme l’air, l’eau, le sol et la santé humaine. Le programme «Porcherie verte» s’est plus particulièrement attaché à un certain nombre de composés présents dans l’alimentation du porc dont une fraction, non retenue par l’animal, est rejetée dans les déjections. Le devenir de ces composés tout au long de la chaîne de production, de l’aliment du bétail au sol, varie beaucoup en fonction des filières utilisées pour la gestion des effluents. Dans l’esprit du public, les nuisances olfactives sont également très liées à la production porcine. Souvent considérées comme un facteur limitant essentiel au développement de cet élevage, elles dépendent aussi très largement des filières utilisées pour la gestion des effluents. Voir l'article complet sur ce lien https://www6.inrae.fr/productions-animales/content/download/3353/34130/version/1/file/Prod_Anim_2008_4_Intro.pdf

A curved ultrasonic transducer was devised to standardise biofilm removal for hygiene testing in internal or curved food contact surfaces. Meat biofilms made with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus on stainless steel sheets were studied. Ultrasounds (10 s at 40 kHz) alone failed to completely remove biofilms: 49 ± 5% and 39 ± 5% recovery rates were obtained for E . coli and S . aureus biofilms, respectively. A combined treatment, which involved the application of ultrasounds to EDTA and/or in enzymes solutions, allowed to remove up to 75 ± 4% and 100 ± 15% of E . coli and S . aureus biofilms, respectively. This application was in agreement with an industrial control i.e. a combined treatment: ultrasound generation in enzymes preparation restricted to an active chamber area with a fast and good reproducible recovery. Industrial relevance The biofilm phenomenon has been under intensive research for several years in food industry. A curved ultrasonic transducer was devised to standardise biofilm removal for hygiene testing in internal or curved food contact surfaces. This apparatus uses the mechanical effects of ultrasonic cavitation produced at 40 KHz (10 s) for the non-destructive detection of biofilms in food processing equipment. We report the utilisation of a combined treatment, which involved the application of ultrasounds to EDTA and/or in enzymes solutions on meat biofilms made with E . coli and S . aureus on stainless steel sheets. This application was in agreement with an industrial control i.e. a combined treatment: ultrasound generation in EDTA and/or enzymes preparation restricted to an active chamber area with a fast and good reproducible recovery.

This chapter is the result of the joint session hosted by the EAAP (European Federation of Animal Science) and EU-PLF (Precision Livestock Farming) held in Copenhagen 2014. Following the full-length peer-reviewed papers, presented in Chapters 4.1 – 4.5, this chapter brings together ‘questions and answers' debates during this session’s discussions. Unique of this ‘cross-disciplinary’ approach is that animal nutritionists, animal geneticists, animal behaviourists, health and welfare scientists, zoologists, and biologists (i.e. animal-focused scientists), that usually participate in the EAAP meetings, as well as industries, farmers, and PLF engineers raised up further research ideas, contradicting opinions as well as unsolved issues. They concluded that (1) PLF is a management tool that allows farmers to make better decisions based on animal data; (2) it has the potential to support animal feed suppliers, human-food retailers, environment carers, policy makers, and other players along the livestock chain; and (3) that the current challenge for PLF is the integration of the sensors in the majority of the farms and not only to the pioneering farms. This discussion chapter would be interesting to those who are interested in further research (the recorded discussions), companies (ready-to-market applications are described in the papers), extension service and knowledge transfer units, farmers, farm animal protectors activists (sensors for caring farm animals), and all those who ‘touch’ the PLF various fields.

This chapter is the result of the joint session hosted by the EAAP (European Federation of Animal Science) and EU-PLF (Precision Livestock Farming) held in Copenhagen 2014. Following the full-length peer-reviewed papers, presented in Chapters 7.1 – 7.3, this chapter brings together ‘questions and answers' debates during this session’s discussions. Unique of this ‘cross-disciplinary’ approach is that animal nutritionists, animal geneticists, animal behaviourists, health and welfare scientists, zoologists, and biologists (i.e. animal-focused scientists), that usually participate in the EAAP meetings, as well as industries, farmers, and PLF engineers raised up further research ideas, contradicting opinions as well as unsolved issues. They concluded that (1) PLF is a management tool that allows farmers to make better decisions based on animal data; (2) it has the potential to support animal feed suppliers, human-food retailers, environment carers, policy makers, and other players along the livestock chain; and (3) that the current challenge for PLF is the integration of the sensors in the majority of the farms and not only to the pioneering farms. This discussion chapter would be interesting to those who are interested in further research (the recorded discussions), companies (ready-to-market applications are described in the papers), extension service and knowledge transfer units, farmers, farm animal protectors activists (sensors for caring farm animals), and all those who ‘touch’ the PLF various fields.

Two ultrasonic devices – flat (T1) and curved (T2) ultrasonic transducers – were developed to remove biofilms from opened and closed surfaces, respectively. The aim is to standardize biofilm removal for in situ sanitary control in the food industry. The biofilms studied in this work were model biofilms made with milk on stainless steel sheets. We have shown in a previous study that sonication could be employed to remove and resuspend biofilm consistently, with a good recovery rate, from opened surfaces. Plate counting was used to assess the efficiency of each treatment. A total removal of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus from model biofilms was obtained with T1: 10 s at 40 kHz. However, ultrasound applied with T2 (a patented curved transducer developed for closed surfaces: 10 s at 40 kHz) failed to completely remove these model biofilms: 30±7% and 66±10% for E. coli and S. aureus biofilms, respectively. In order to improve the biofilm removal from closed surfaces with T2, the effect of the application of ultrasound in combination with chelating agent preparations was investigated. The application of ultrasound with T2 in 0.05 mol EDTA or EGTA per litre dislodged the E. coli milk model biofilm, with 100±10% and 100±5% recovery yields, respectively. These results showed a synergism between ultrasonic waves and chelator preparations, i.e. the combination achieved three times the recovery rate of sonication alone (30%). However, when the same treatment was applied to the S. aureus milk model biofilm, the combined treatment with EDTA or EGTA did not significantly improve the recovery of the biofilm cells: 74±26% with EDTA at 0.025 mol/l and 41–47% with EGTA at 0.025 mol/l and 0.05 mol/l, respectively, compared with 66±10% for sonication alone. The combined treatment was in agreement with an industrial control, i.e. a good reproducible recovery of the biofilm in a few seconds (10 s) for E. coli milk biofilms but not for S. aureus biofilms.

Castration to prevent boar taint limits productivity and increases animal welfare concerns of commercial pork production; hence, alternative strategies for controlling taint are needed. Although it must be mentioned that growing castrates rather than intact males has enabled the global pork industry to create efficiencies in the pork supply chains (on farm and in slaughter and further processing plants) by harvesting animals at heavy weights (i.e., 120–130 kg live weight). Immunocastration effectively controls boar taint, but the development of low boar taint lines of pigs by application of genetic and genomics technologies would provide a long-term solution to the problem. Various dietary manipulations can also be used to decrease taint, so that genetic selection might not need to completely alleviate taint. Eliminating the need for castration of male piglets will improve carcass composition and consistency, profitability, environmental impact, and animal welfare of pork production.

The use of an ultrasonic apparatus (40 kHz) for the non-destructive, rapid and reproducible removal of biofilm from standard materials (stainless steel and polypropylene) in a dairy factory was investigated. The application of ultrasound with the tested conditions (10 s and 40 kHz) was found not to be detrimental for standard ATP (concentration ranging between 5 x 10(-9) and 10(-5) mol 1(-1)) and for prokaryotic cells, including both rods and coccoid-shaped bacteria (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus). It allowed the use of the ATP bioluminescence measurement for quantifying the biofilm removal. The repeatability of industrial milk removal was determined on fouled stainless steel and polypropylene sheets. The variability of the results with the sonication method was constant, +/-24% (coefficient of variation) for both surfaces, and was variable with the swabbing method, +/-42% for the stainless steel sheet and +/-74% for the polypropylene sheet. The ultrasonic apparatus removed twice the amount of industrial milk biofilm compared with the swabbing method in the case of the polypropylene sheets. The apparatus was used to validate the industrial cleaning protocols of a milk factory.

A new ultrasonic apparatus operating at a frequency of 40 kHz was developed to dislodge biofilms from food processing equipment in order to assess the effectiveness of cleaning protocols. Sonication conditions to remove biofilms and quantification by ATP-bioluminescence are described. An industrial meat process was developed at the laboratory level to form a biofilm with industrial characteristics. Our results show that the biofilm removal by sonication during 10 s is reproducible and four times greater compared to the swabbing method (83% removal of fouling material against 20%). Unlike the swabbing method, this ultrasonic apparatus permitted the immediately demonstration of the inefficiency (within 1 min) of an industrial meat cleaning protocol. This apparatus is portable, easy to use and can be operated by unskilled users.

Après avoir longtemps stagné, la prolificité des truies enregistre depuis quelques années des progrès remarquables et l’introduction des lignées sino-européennes laisse entrevoir que cette augmentation des performances de reproduction va se poursuivre. L’augmentation de la taille des portées peut cependant avoir un certain nombre de conséquences sur la survie et les performances des porcelets ou sur la carrière des reproductrices. La Commission spécialisée des recherches porcines de l’INRA a organisé deux journées de réflexion sur ce sujet, dont nous vous proposons les grandes lignes sous forme d’articles courts résumant les communications qui y ont été présentées. Après un constat de l’évolution des performances de reproduction au cours des dernières années (J. Dagorn et al), les principales voies d’amélioration de la prolificité, aussi bien celles qui sont mises en œuvre à l’heure actuelle, que celles que l’on peut envisager pour le futur, ont été exposées. Les possibilités offertes par la sélection (C. Legault, J.-P. Bidanel) ou par une meilleure connaissance de la physiologie de l’ovulation (M.-A. Driancourt et al) et du développement embryonnaire (M. Terqui et F. Botté) ont été présentées, ainsi que les développements envisageables à partir de l’identification de gènes impliqués dans la croissance folliculaire (F. Hatey). Le deuxième volet de la réflexion a porté sur l’examen des conséquences de l’augmentation de la prolificité sur les truies elles-mêmes ou sur les porcelets, que ces conséquences aient déjà été constatées ou qu’elles soient envisageables en cas de poursuite de la tendance actuelle à l’augmentation de la production annuelle de porcelets par truie. Les problèmes déjà rencontrés en élevage cunicole ont d’abord été présentés (G. Bolet). Les conséquences possibles de l’augmentation de la prolificité ont ensuite été envisagées sous l’angle génétique (J.-P. Bidanel), en termes de nutrition de la truie et des foetus (A. Prunier et H. Quesnel, J.-Y. Dourmad et al, N. Quiniou et al, M. Etienne et M.-C. Père) ou de survie et croissance des porcelets (P. Herpin et J. Le Dividich).

The use of secondary ions mass spectrometry (SIMS) generally leads to very high sensitivity and depth resolution for silicon-based components. Low concentration elements such as dopants, are easy to quantify in silicon, whereas high concentration elements are subject to “matrix effects”, i.e. the intensity does not vary linearly with the concentration. Matrix effects are presently studied in SiGe alloys using two primary beams O 2 + and Cs + and a CAMECA IMS4F instrument. Rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition grown Si/Si 1− x Ge x /Si multilayer structures with x varying from 0 to 23.5% are preliminarily characterized by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) in thickness and atomic composition. The linear variation of the SIMS intensity ratio I Ge + / I Si + with the RBS concentration ratio x /(1− x ) is confirmed for both O 2 + and Cs + beams. However, the linearity does not imply the absence of matrix effects. A variation of the ionization yields with Ge concentration and a similar behavior for τ Ge+ and τ Si+ actually lead to an exact compensation of the intensity ratio variation. At any energy, O 2 + experiments systematically over-estimate the real Ge concentration, whereas matrix effects under Cs + beam are weak. For polyatomic MCs + ions, strong matrix effects are observed in Si 1− x Ge x alloys. A quantitative analysis of major constituents and a dopant (boron) is used to determine the depth profiles of a thin base of a SiGe HBT heterostructure. Two different procedures are used depending on the primary beam. Consistent results are obtained for the concentrations of the major elements. The fully autonomous SIMS analysis with the Cs + beam is still penalized by the lack of sensitivity for boron in the secondary positive mode. © 1997 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

NASA’s Laser Communication Relay Demonstration (LCRD) aims to demonstrate a geosynchronous satellite laser communications (lasercom) relay between two independent ground terminals. We report on the design of two adaptive optics (AO) techniques for LCRD Ground Station #2 (GS-2). GS-2 leverages the ground terminal developed for NASA’s Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration (LLCD). Equipping GS-2’s 40cm diameter receive telescope with AO to mitigate atmospheric turbulence effects will enable the use of single mode, optically preamplified receivers for high data-rate near-Earth relay applications. In this work a direct wavefront sensing AO approach using a Shack-Hartmann sensor and a continuous facesheet micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) deformable mirror (DM) was compared with an indirect sensing, hill-climbing or multidither approach using a segmented MEMS DM. Design concepts and recent experimental progress for the two approaches are presented.

A major problem posed by the geology of Crete is the horizontal contact of an upper unit without Miocene metamorphism onto a metamorphosed lower one with Early Miocene high pressure/low temperature (HP/LT) parageneses. This very sharp contact is roughly parallel to the major Oligo-Miocene thrust planes which were reactivated as a large-scale detachment which allowed exhumation of high-pressure units. We describe the extensional deformation and the metamorphic evolution of the lower plate. Most first-order deformation features relate to the retrogression from high-pressure to low-pressure conditions. A N-S pervasive stretching is observed everywhere, often associated with a top-to-the-north sense of shear. The extreme variation of thickness of the Phyllite-Quartzite nappe (upper part of the lower plate) is probably the result of large-scale boudinage similar to the one seen in large outcrops. The most important observation is the systematic occurrence of fresh carpholite immediately below the base of the Tripolitza nappe except in northwestern Crete where a late extensional shear zone is present. Deeper in the nappe pile carpholite is systematically retrograded. This observation reveals a drastically different PT history for the upper part of the Phyllite-Quartzite nappe. It also suggests that the late extensional shear zone found along the northern side of Crete cuts inside the metamorphic structure and brings the nonmetamorphosed Tripolitza nappe directly in contact with the deeper parts of the Phyllite-Quartzite nappe. PT-t paths suggest a fast temperature decrease in the top of the Phyllite-Quartzite during retrogression and, hence, during the top-to-the-north shear. The deeper part of the Phyllite-Quartzite nappe shows a low-temperature regime throughout, but its PT path includes an isothermal decompression in the first stage. We produce a tentative map of domains having experienced similar PT trajectories during decompression. The overall cool regime is related to the continuous underthrusting of cola continental units during exhumation. Isothermal decompression observed in the core of the Phyllite-Quartzite Nappe implies fast exhumation during extension and the faster cooling of the upper part is related to a continuous displacement toward the north of a cooler unit during exhumation. Single grain 39Ar-40Ar ages obtained on phengites (15–25 Ma) in various structural sites are in good agreement with these conclusions and with the geological context suggesting that underthrusting of cold units at the front the accretionnary complex occurred contemporaneously with unroofing below a north dipping detachment near the top of the wedge. The age of this detachment is bracketed between the end of the high-pressure event (20 Ma) and the deposition of the breccia (Early to Middle Miocene) in the Neogene basins.

Electron microscopic postembedding immunocytochemistry was used to analyze and assess the synaptic distribution of glycine (GLY) and gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) immunoreactivities in the guinea pig cochlear nucleus (CN). Three classes of endings were identified containing immunolabeling for glycine, GABA, or both glycine and GABA (GLY/GABA). All classes were similar in that the terminals contained pleomorphic vesicles and formed symmetric synapses with their postsynaptic targets. A fourth class, which labeled with neither antibody, contained round vesicles and formed asymmetric synapses. Glycine endings predominated in the ventral CN, while GLY/GABA endings were prevalent in the dorsal CN. GABA endings were the least common and smallest in size. Glycine, GLY/GABA, and GABA endings differed in their proportions and patterns of distribution on the different classes of projection neurons in the CN, including spherical bushy, type I stellate/multipolar, and octopus cells in the ventral CN and fusiform cells in the dorsal CN. The vast majority of anatomically-defined, putative inhibitory endings contain GLY, GABA, or both, suggesting that most of the inhibition in the cochlear nucleus is mediated by these three cytochemically and, probably, functionally distinct classes of endings. The results of this study also suggest that a large proportion of the GABA available for inhibition in the CN coexists in terminals with glycine.

Cet article fait partie du dossier : Le déterminisme génétique du développement musculaire

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) encodes its own ribonucleotide reductase (RR), which provides the high levels of deoxynucleoside triphosphates required for viral DNA replication in infected cells. HSV RR is composed of two distinct subunits, R1 and R2, whose association is required for enzymatic activity. Peptidomimetic inhibitors that mimic the C-terminal amino acids of R2 inhibit HSV RR by preventing the association of R1 and R2. These compounds are candidate antiviral therapeutic agents. Here we describe the in vitro selection of HSV type 1 KOS variants with three- to ninefold-decreased sensitivity to the RR inhibitor BILD 733. The resistant isolates have growth properties in vitro similar to those of wild-type KOS but are more sensitive to acyclovir, possibly as a consequence of functional impairment of their RRs. A single amino acid substitution in R1 (Ala-1091 to Ser) was associated with threefold resistance to BILD 733, whereas an additional substitution (Pro-1090 to Leu) was required for higher levels of resistance. These mutations were reintroduced into HSV type 1 KOS and shown to be sufficient to confer the resistance phenotype. Studies in vitro with RRs isolated from cells infected with these mutant viruses demonstrated that these RRs bind BILD 733 more weakly than the wild-type enzyme and are also functionally impaired, exhibiting an elevated dissociation constant (Kd) for R1-R2 subunit association and/or reduced activity (kcat). This work provides evidence that the C-terminal end of HSV R1 (residues 1090 and 1091) is involved in R2 binding interactions and demonstrates that resistance to subunit association inhibitors may be associated with compromised activity of the target enzyme.

LiMO2 (MCo, Ni) and LiMn2O4 compounds synthesized at low temperature (LT) show very different electrochemical properties compared with their high-temperature (HT) analogues. These powders are in general characterized by a higher surface area and smaller grain size. When used as cathode materials in lithium secondary batteries, such LT compounds should show an enhanced electrochemical behaviour under heavy drain. We have developed a new synthesis method of LiMO2 and LiMn2O4 characterized by monodispersive grain size powders, high surface area, good crystallinity, and a chemical composition close to the stoichiometry. We have carried out a comparison of the electrochemical properties of LiCoO2 powders obtained by the classical method and this new synthesis route. In spite of a slightly lower discharge capacity, the new powder showed higher performances in terms of rate capacity.

von Willebrand factor (vWF) is essential for the induction of occlusive thrombosis in stenosed and injured pig arteries and for normal hemostasis. To separate the relative contribution of plasma and platelet vWF to arterial thrombosis, we produced chimeric normal and von Willebrand disease pigs by crossed bone marrow transplantation; von Willebrand disease (vWD) pigs were engrafted with normal pig bone marrow and normal pigs were engrafted with vWD bone marrow. Thrombosis developed in the chimeric normal pigs that showed normal levels of plasma vWF and an absence of platelet vWF; but no thrombosis occurred in the chimeric vWD pigs that demonstrated normal platelet vWF and an absence of plasma vWF. The ear bleeding times of the chimeric pigs were partially corrected by endogenous plasma vWF but not by platelet vWF. Our animal model demonstrated that vWF in the plasma compartment is essential for the development of arterial thrombosis and that it also contributes to the maintenance of bleeding time and hemostasis.

Des espaces de recherche et de formation en instrumentation interventionnelle sont devenus necessaires en raison du besoin de formation preclinique des operateurs et des nouvelles exigences reglementaires (loi Huriet-Serusclat et directive europeenne sur le materiel medicochirurgical). De tels espaces doivent etre concus comme des structures ouvertes a tous les partenaires du domaine, notamment chercheurs, praticiens et industriels. L'Assistance publique des hopitaux de Paris (AP-HP) et l'Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA) ont cree par convention, fin 1993, sur le site de recherche animale INRA de Jouy-en Josas, une structure originale dediee a la recherche et a la formation en instrumentation interventionnelle, qu'ils ont dotee de personnels logistiques et d'appareils d'imagerie par rayons X et ultrasons.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of feed restriction applied to immunocastrated pigs in the period after the second vaccination (V2) against GnRH on hormonal status, performance, carcass traits, and meat quality. Immunocastrated pigs (IC) were compared with entire males (EM) and surgical castrates fed ad libitum. Pigs (Large White × Landrace) × Pietrain were either left entire or surgically castrated within 1 wk after birth (SC, n = 22). At 83 d of age, the entire males were further allotted to treatment groups (individual housing) of ad libitum fed EM (n = 24), ad libitum fed IC (IC-L, n = 21), or restrictively fed IC (IC-R, n = 21). At that time, the first vaccination (V1) was applied to IC-L and IC-R pigs. One week after V2 (age 130 d), feed restriction (≈ 80% of the ad libitum feed intake of SC pigs) was applied to IC-R pigs. The experiment ended 5 wk after V2, when pigs were 165 d old. Immunocastration successfully reduced boar taint compounds and size of reproductive organs. At 130 d, serum leptin concentrations were similar in all groups, whereas IGF-I concentration was less in SC (P ≤ 0.002) than in the other groups. Three weeks after V2, leptin concentrations of both IC groups were in between EM (least) and SC (greatest). The reverse was observed for IGF-I. Feed restriction had no effect on leptin or IGF-I concentrations in IC pigs. In the period V1 to V2, performance differed mainly between EM and SC, whereas both IC groups had feed intake and feed conversion ratio similar to EM and intermediate daily BW gain, not differing from either EM or SC. After V2, IC-L pigs increased their feed intake to the concentrations of SC, with faster growth compared with the other 3 groups (P0.05) and fatter carcasses compared with EM pigs (P = 0.007). Similar performance and carcass leanness were observed for IC-R and EM pigs. During preslaughter handling more carcass lesions were noted in EM and IC-R than in IC-L or SC pigs (P0.002). Neither immunocastration nor feed restriction had any effect on meat quality, but EM had greater drip loss, less intramuscular fat, and decreased tenderness than SC pigs. In conclusion, restricting feed intake can increase production efficiency but also aggressiveness of IC pigs.

EAAP Annual Meeting, 2008. Session ‘Piglet Castration’; International audience; PIGCAS (Attitudes, practices and state of the art regarding piglet castration in Europe) is to our knowledge the first project that has focused on castration practice across European countries (European Union minus Bulgaria, Malta and Romania, plus Norway and Switzerland). About 250 million pigs are slaughtered in Europe each year. Of the 125 million male pigs, approximately 20% are left entire, less than 3% are castrated with anaesthesia and the rest is castrated without anaesthesia. The study identified large variations in castration procedures, both within and between countries. In females, castration is very rare, but is practiced without anaesthesia in special breeds/production systems in some of the southern countries.

The aim of the present paper is to review the present knowledge concerning the possible use of entire male pigs for meat production, with particular emphasis on the current situation in EU countries. Raising entire male pigs has a number of advantages including lower production costs, leaner carcass, reduction of the output of pollutants in the manure and improved welfare of the animals. However, it has also a number of drawbacks, most of them concerning meat quality, with boar taint being the most serious problem. A recent international study involving 7 EU countries has shown that a higher proportion of consumers is dissatisfied with entire male than with gilt pork (31.9 vs 26.0% for odour; 21.5 vs 18.5% for flavour). However, the perception of boar taint differs widely between countries. Skatole, a compound with intense faecal odour, and androstenone, a steroid with intense urinary odour, are held as responsible for boar taint. The above-mentioned international study demonstrated that skatole has a higher contribution than androstenone for consumer perception of unpleasant odours, while both compounds have similar contributions to unpleasant flavours. In the current situation, a high proportion of the entire male pigs reared in EU countries exhibit skatole/androstenone levels that result in a significant increase in consumer dissatisfaction, comparatively to gilt pork. Fat skatole levels are mostly dependent on feeding and rearing factors, while fat androstenone content is mostly determined by genetic factors. Besides the economic advantages associated with the production of entire males, the animal welfare issue may result some day in EU regulations prohibiting the castration of male piglets as it is currently performed. This would lead to a degradation of meat quality unless something is done to control the boar taint problem. An integrated approach should be considered with actions taken at the three levels of animal production, slaughter and processing. On the short range, immunocastration may offer a viable way for a drastic reduction of the incidence of boar taint in entire male pig populations. On the long range, selection against skatole/androstenone may be cheaper and more readily acceptable. Artificial noses and related techniques offer interesting possibilities for the assessment of boar taint on the slaughter line, however, further developments are needed in order to determine whether they can be used in industrial conditions. Tainted meat can be used through processing, however specific studies have to be conducted for each of the many products that can be processed from pig meat.

The role of carbohydrate moieties on the immunoprotective ability of parainfluenza virus type 3 (PIV-3) haemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) and fusion (F) glycoproteins was tested in hamsters. HN and F proteins were purified from detergent-solubilized virus by lentil-lectin affinity chromatography and deglycosylated by treatment with endoglycosidase F (endo F). Immunization of hamsters with either 1 or 5 micrograms of mock-treated (glycosylated) affinity-purified proteins elicited strong haemagglutination inhibition and neutralizing antibody responses 4 weeks after the primary injection. In contrast, titres were significantly lower with endo F-treated (deglycosylated) proteins. However, following the booster doses with at least 5 micrograms of antigen, glycosylated and deglycosylated proteins induced comparable antibody titres. There was no significant difference in the ability of the glycosylated or deglycosylated proteins to protect either the upper or lower respiratory tracts of immunized hamsters against PIV-3 challenge. These results suggest that the carbohydrate moieties of the HN and F proteins are not necessary for eliciting a protective response in hamsters.

Large White × Pietrain boars were administered 0 or 5 mg recombinant porcine somatotropin (pST) daily between 68 and 105 kg live weight in an investigation of the effects of pST treatment on growth performance, carcass traits, genital-tract development, steroid-hormone synthesis, and fat skatole and androstenone levels in young male pigs. Growth rate was not affected by pST treatment, daily feed intake was decreased 9% (P −1 in control animals to 0.35 μg g−1 in pST-treated animals (P

SummaryWe investigated the comparative antithrombotic properties of clopidogrel, an analogue of ticlopidine, and aspirin, using the Folts' model on femoral arteries in 22 pigs. On each animal, clopidogrel or aspirin were used to treat the thrombotic process on the left femoral artery and to prevent this process on the right femoral artery. Sequentially: an injury and stenosis were carried out on the left femoral artery; the thrombotic process was monitored with a Doppler during a 30-min observation period for cyclic flow reductions or permanent cessation of flow; after the first cyclic flow reduction occurred, clopidogrel (5 mg kg-1) or aspirin (2.5, 5, 100 mg kg-1) were injected intravenously; if cyclic flow reductions were abolished, epinephrine (0.4 µg kg-1 min-1) was injected to try to restore cyclic flow reductions and/or permanent cessation of flow; then injury and stenosis were applied on the right femoral artery. Before and after injection of clopidogrel or aspirin, ear immersion bleeding times and ex-vivo platelet aggregation were performed. Clopidogrel (n = 7) abolished cyclic flow reductions in all animals and epinephrine did not restore any cyclic flow reduction. On the right femoral artery, cyclic flow reductions were efficiently prevented, even for two injuries. Basal bleeding time (5 min 28) was lengthened (>15 min, 30 min after clopidogrel and remained prolonged even after 24 h). ADP-induced platelet aggregation was inhibited (more than 78%). Comparatively, aspirin had a moderate and no dose-dependent effect. Aspirin 2.5 mg kg-1 (n = 6) abolished cyclic flow reductions in 2 animals, CFR reoccurred spontaneously in one animal and epinephrine restored it in a second animal. Aspirin 5 mg kg-1 (n = 6) abolished cyclic flow reductions in only 3 animals and epinephrine always restored it. Aspirin 100 mg kg-1 (n = 3) was unable to abolish cyclic flow reductions. On the right femoral artery, aspirin did not significantly prevent cyclic flow reductions which occurred in all animals after one (n = 14) or two injuries (n = 1), except for one animal. Basal bleeding time was lengthened but it shortened rapidly, reaching its basal value after 24 h. ADP-induced aggregation was not significantly inhibited, whereas arachidonic acid induced aggregation was always inhibited. Clopidogrel appears as a more potent antithrombotic drug than aspirin in this model, in treating and preventing spontaneous or epinephrine-induced cyclic flow reductions and lengthening bleeding time.

A total of twenty two Large White X Landrace castrated males were slaughtered at 30, 70, 110 or 140kg BW. Carcasses were weighed and cut into four primal cuts (belly, ham, loin, and shoulder). Each cut was weighed and dissected into bone, muscle, skin, and intermuscular and subcutaneous adipose tissues. Kidney fat was also taken and weighed. Kidney fat grew more rapidly than subcutaneous or intermuscular fat averaged over all four cuts. In the shoulder and loin, about one third of total adipose tissue was in the intermuscular fraction. In the belly, there was as much (in 30-110kg BW pigs) or more (in 140kg BW pigs) intermuscular than subcutaneous adipose tissue. In the ham, the intermuscular fraction of adipose tissue grew more slowly than the subcutaneous one, so that it represented less than one fourth of total ham adipose tissue in 140kg BW pigs. Intermuscular adipose tissue exhibited a lower lipid content than subcutaneous adipose tissue, whatever the body weight, but the differences in lipid content between the adipose tissues decreased with increasing weight. These results show that the relative development of intermuscular and subcutaneous adipose tissues differs according to anatomical location.

In Europe the proportion of male pigs that are left ‘entire’ has been high for many years in the British Isles and Iberian Peninsula, and has recently increased in The Netherlands and to a lesser extent in Germany and France. Various European Union partners agreed in 2010 on a road map to abandon piglet castration by 1 January 2018. Despite significant commercial in-confidence research on instrumental methods for detecting boar-tainted carcasses at slaughter plants, nothing is currently being adopted at an industrial scale. A few abattoirs sort out the most heavily tainted carcasses, using human nose methods. However, there are major concerns with their accuracy, which is currently not documented in any publicly available technical report. The importance of androstenone and skatole for boar taint is still debated but a recent study (CAMPIG; G Backus, H Snoek, MA Oliver, M Font i Furnols, M Aluwé, F Tuyttens, M Bonneau, P Chevillon, MD Aaslyng, D Moerlein, L Meier-Dinkel, J Trautmann, J-E Haugen, unpubl. data) has established preliminary equations relating consumer dissatisfaction to androstenone and skatole levels. These equations still need further consolidation to integrate the impact of very high and very low androstenone levels on consumer acceptability. Reducing the incidence of boar taint at a production level and at the same time overcoming possible greater aggressive behaviour of entire male pigs are also critical for abandoning castration. Genetic selection is the most efficient way to reduce androstenone, but the selection of boar-taint-free genetic lines without any adverse consequence on the reproductive and growth performance will take time. Skatole levels can be efficiently reduced via feeding specific feedstuffs and good control of the animals’ environment. Provided that the incidence of boar taint can be reduced to an acceptable level and the residual tainted carcasses can be sorted out at a reasonable price by mutually recognised methods, the abandonment of castration will result in high benefits, up to one-billion euros for both the pork industry, via a drastic reduction of production costs, and society at large, through improved animal welfare and reduced impact on the environment.

Au cours des cinquante dernières années, des progrès considérables dans les performances d’élevage des espèces domestiques ont été obtenus grâce à une meilleure connaissance acquise dans le domaine de la physiologie, en particulier en ce qui concerne la nutrition, la croissance, la reproduction et la lactation, et qui s’est conjuguée aux progrès génétiques accomplis dans les différentes espèces animales dans un contexte de meilleure maîtrise sanitaire des troupeaux et de maîtrise plus fine des systèmes d’élevage en place. Le recours aux substances hormonales pour mieux maîtriser les fonctions de reproduction et de croissance a pris une place déterminante dans ce progrès. Néanmoins, une tendance profonde consistant à restreindre leur utilisation à certains moments critiques de la vie de l’animal est apparue en Europe ces quinze dernières années, obligeant à rechercher des alternatives par le biais d’une meilleure maîtrise alimentaire, génétique et des systèmes d’élevage, ceci afin de garantir aux consommateurs une meilleure qualité définie a priori des produits animaux. Les fonctions physiologiques qui offrent des possibilités d’un contrôle hormonal exogène, les substances hormonales utilisables et les spéculations animales concernées sont présentées tour à tour. Un éclaircissement sur les risques toxicologiques que présentent ces substances, le contrôle et la traçabilité de leur utilisation et les réglementations en vigueur sont ensuite rappelés. Enfin, sont évoquées les recherches qui permettront de faire progresser sensiblement la question de l’utilisation des hormones en élevage dans un contexte sociétal renouvelé., During the last fifty years, considerable progress in breeding performances of domestic species has been obtained due to a better knowledge obtained in physiology and in particular nutrition, growth, reproduction and lactation. This progress has been united with that of genetic progress accomplished in the different animal species in a context of an improved control of sanitary conditions of herds and a more accurate control of the existing breeding systems. The use of hormonal substances to better control reproduction functions and growth has become decisive within this progress. However, a profound tendency that restrains their use to certain critical moments in the life of an animal has appeared in Europe these last fifteen years, obliging researchers to search for alternatives via a better control of food, genetics and breeding systems, in order to guarantee to consumers a better, a priori, quality of animal products. Physiological functions that offer possibilities of exogenous hormonal control, usable hormonal substances and animal speculations are presented. A clarification of the toxicological risks that these substances present, the control and traceability of their use and the current regulations are given. Finally, the research that will allow making progress around the question of hormone use in breeding in a context of a remodelled society is evoked.

Dans la plupart des pays, les porcelets mâles sont castrés par voie chirurgicale pour éviter les odeurs sexuelles, lors de la cuisson des viandes, qui sont dues essentiellement à l’androsténone et au scatol. Cette intervention peut légalement être réalisée par l’éleveur sur les porcelets jusqu’à 7 jours d’âge mais pourrait être interdite dans un avenir proche pour des raisons éthiques car elle est très douloureuse. Une alternative consisterait à réduire fortement la douleur liée à la castration. Compte tenu des nombreuses contraintes auxquelles sont soumis les élevages de porcs, très peu de solutions existent. L’une d’elles serait d’associer une anesthésie locale à la lidocaïne avec un traitement antalgique par un anti-inflammatoire. Alternativement, la castration chirurgicale pourrait être remplacée par l’immunocastration ou par la destruction du tissu testiculaire avec des sels minéraux. L’alternative la plus documentée consisterait à immuniser les porcs mâles contre le GnRH mais il n’existe actuellement aucun vaccin ayant un agrément dans l’UE. Par ailleurs, l’acceptabilité par les consommateurs et les conséquences de cette technique sur le bien-être des animaux sont mal connus. L’élevage de porcs mâles entiers pourrait être envisagé mais suppose de réduire le risque d’odeur sexuelle dans la viande et de pouvoir trier les carcasses défectueuses. Les teneurs en scatol et surtout en androsténone pourraient être diminuées par la sélection génétique. La mise en place de conduites d’élevage et de régimes alimentaires appropriés pourrait contribuer à réduire davantage les teneurs en scatol. En conclusion, l’interdiction de la castration chirurgicale poserait de graves problèmes à la filière porcine du fait de l’absence de solution alternative opérationnelle., In most countries, male piglets are castrated to prevent boar taint in meat due essentially to androstenone and skatole. Surgical castration is legally performed without analgesia until 7 days of age, but could be banned in the future since it is very painful. One solution could be to relieve the pain, using anaesthesia and pre-emptive analgesia. Taking into account the numerous constraints for the use of drugs on pig farms, very few solutions exist. One of them is to combine local anaesthesia with lidocaine and prolonged analgesia with an anti-inflammatory drug. Alternatively, surgical castration could be replaced by immunocastration or local destruction of testicular tissue by salts. The most documented solution is to immunise male pigs against GnRH but there are currently no licensed products in the EU. Moreover, the consumer acceptability of the method and its consequences on the welfare of pigs are poorly known. Raising entire males could also be considered, provided that it is possible to decrease the incidence of boar taint and to sort out tainted carcasses. Skatole and mainly androstenone levels could be lowered by genetic selection. Further decrease in skatole could be achieved via adapted management and nutrition. Regarding carcass sorting, new methods are under evaluation. In conclusion, banning of surgical castration would cause serious problems to the pig industry that it is not yet prepared to handle.

Current treatment of thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysms is surgical. Despite significant advances in surgical technique and anesthetic management, significant morbidity and mortality remain associated with their repair. In compliance with principles of reducing postoperative morbidity, we developed a thoraco-abdominal endovascular graft in experimental models of type III and type IV thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysm. This device had to preserve the vascularization of the visceral arteries while ensuring full aneurysmal exclusion.Six implantations of the endovascular graft were performed. This graft was a modular system, made of: 1) a custom made main body containing 4 prosthetic visceral branches, 2) 4 self-expandable stent-grafts connecting prosthetic visceral branches with visceral arteries, 3) a custom made tubular endovascular graft connecting the main body with one of the iliac arteries.On angiographic controls, full aneurysmal exclusion was achieved while maintaining visceral artery perfusion. At the end of each procedure, the experimental model was opened. Macroscopic examination showed harmonious thoraco-abdominal endovascular graft deployments, without abnormal component constraint or kinking. There was no discordance between macroscopic and angiographicOur experimental work led to the development of a thoraco-abdominal endovascular graft, demonstrating feasibility of thoraco-abdominal aneurysm endoluminal treatment on an in vitro model close to the anatomical conditions observed in human pathology.

International audience

International audience

The relation of glass transition temperature to performance in thermal cycling is reviewed and is related to the behavior of the modulus and the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) with temperature. These three properties interact to dictate performance in thermal cycling, which can be the source of many failures. Each property can be adjusted to some extent with resulting tradeoffs. Fillers will dominate the measured CTE. They will also dominate the viscosity of the product and its rheology during cure. In some cases, it is possible to lower the modulus of product without appreciably affecting the CTE. The reduced modulus can yield reduced stress. From these data selection criteria for encapsulating the various package formats have been extracted. Based on the physical characteristics of the package and the constraints on curing, the user can select an appropriate encapsulant on the basis of its cured physical properties. >

A novel fast flow, fast cure and reworkable underfill material has been developed. This non-epoxy material satisfies all the basic requirements for underfill materials, such as high glass transition temperature, low viscosity and low thermal expansion coefficient. During laboratory testing, this underfill exhibits excellent flow behavior (about 10 seconds for a quarter inch die), and fast curability (less than 5 minutes at 150/spl deg/C). A distinct feature of this underfill material is its reworkability. The rework was achieved by thermal removal of the silicon die, followed by solvent cleaning of the underfill. Laboratory work demonstrates that the chip removal and underfill cleanup process can be completed within 5 minutes.

The further development of the epoxy flip chip underfill encapsulant material has been demonstrated as necessary to enhance the temperature cycle performance of the solder ball connections. A reduction of the epoxy encapsulant under fill processing and cure time is needed in order to better fit into the production line environment. This paper reports and discusses the improvement of under fill flow speed and distance, the various material properties such as resin viscosity, filler effects and the overall rheology with respect to under fill flow. The reduction of oven cure time is a key requirement for faster "throughput" and reduction of "work in process". The minimum cure times needed in order to maintain the level of reliability required as a flip chip under fill material are discussed. Physical material properties of these flip chip materials such as; glass transition temperature, coefficient of thermal expansion, tensile modulus, and adhesion are discussed in relation to reliability performance.

The availability of recombinant somatotropin (ST) in the eighties resulted in an exponential increase in investigations of the effects of this molecule. Numerous studies have been performed in the pig which is very responsive to porcine ST (pST) treatment. The aim of the present paper is to review the latest data concerning the biology of ST and the actions of pST in pigs. The effects of ST are mediated at least in part by insulin-like growth factor-I. Changes in hormones and binding proteins in plasma as well as receptors expression in target tissues are considered during development and in response to nutritional status. Somatotropin is involved in the regulation of many physiological processes. The actions of pST are presented with a special emphasis on the effects in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. In the growing pig, the reduction in lipid deposition results primarily from a decrease in the rate oflipogenesis. The increase in muscle mass in response to pST treatment involves at least an increase in protein synthesis. Somatotropin also stimulates longitudinal growth and affects the metabolism of all nutrients classes. The effects on performance and meat quality in growing pigs and on the reproductive system are then presented. It has been shown that treatment of growing pigs with pST consistently improved growth performance including average daily gain and feed efficiency without adversely affecting reproductive functions and meat quality.

The use of an ultrasonic apparatus (40 kHz) for the non-destructive, rapid and reproducible removal of biofilm from standard materials (stainless steel and polypropylene) in a dairy factory was investigated. The application of ultrasound with the tested conditions (10 s and 40 kHz) was found not to be detrimental for standard ATP (concentration ranging between 5 x 10(-9) and 10(-5) mol 1(-1)) and for prokaryotic cells, including both rods and coccoid-shaped bacteria (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus). It allowed the use of the ATP bioluminescence measurement for quantifying the biofilm removal. The repeatability of industrial milk removal was determined on fouled stainless steel and polypropylene sheets. The variability of the results with the sonication method was constant, +/-24% (coefficient of variation) for both surfaces, and was variable with the swabbing method, +/-42% for the stainless steel sheet and +/-74% for the polypropylene sheet. The ultrasonic apparatus removed twice the amount of industrial milk biofilm compared with the swabbing method in the case of the polypropylene sheets. The apparatus was used to validate the industrial cleaning protocols of a milk factory.

Ceria (CeO2) based electrolytes have been considered for use in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) for more than 20 years. There are however some limitations to this usage that this study has tried to address, indeed the study objective has been that of synthesizing and thermal spraying thin layers (50 - 100 µm) of doped CeO2 by the technique of suspension plasma spraying, using radio frequency (RF) plasma technology. Various dopant combinations and concentrations have been selected for this work in order to increase the useful partial oxygen pressure range for satisfactory ionic conductivity development, thereby increasing the anionic conductivity and preventing CeO2 reduction in fuel cell service. Ceria possesses the fluorite crystal structure at low temperatures but does not have enough oxygen vacancies to be a good ionic conductor. In ceria the cerium have 4+ oxidation state within the fluorite structure, and by substituting a certain amount of Ce4+ ions by trivalent dopant ions, oxygen vacancies are induced into the structure. Recent studies have demonstrated that at low temperatures doped ceria seems to be a better electrolyte than doped zirconia. Also, it seems that dopants with ionic radii close to Ce4+ ions give rise to better ionic conductivities. The doped ceria conductivity increases with the dopant concentration because more oxygen vacancies are created, but at higher concentrations vacancy ordering occurs which results in decreased ionic conductivity.

The coagulation process in hyperacute and delayed xenograft rejection is essential and depends upon platelet adhesion and aggregation. The initial binding of platelets to the damaged endothelium is due to the interaction of the platelet receptor glycoprotein Ib with von Willebrand factor (vWF), which is present on activated endothelial cells and bound to the subendothelial matrix. We hypothesized that the use of organs from animals with homozygous von Willebrand disease (vWD), severely deficient in vWF, might prevent the thrombosis encountered in delayed xenograft rejection.Ten baboons were treated by extracorporeal immunoadsorption of xenoreactive natural antibodies (XNA) through the donor pig liver to inhibit hyperacute rejection and received heterotopic vWD or control pig kidney xenografts. XNA levels, coagulation, and platelet activation markers were studied, and specimens of rejected kidneys were analyzed histologically.Although XNA depletion was comparable in both groups, neither kidney function nor survival times of control (n=5) or vWD (n=5) porcine kidneys showed any difference. Platelet and coagulation activation was evidenced in both groups after surgery and at rejection time. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed a weak endothelial vWF immunostaining in the rejected vWD kidneys, whereas it was undetectable in the nongrafted vWD kidneys, suggesting the deposition of baboon plasma vWF on the porcine vessels.The use of vWD organs did not improve the survival time of grafted kidneys in this xenotransplantation model. Further studies on the use of vWD organs, in association with other therapeutic approaches, such as complement inhibition, are nevertheless necessary to evaluate the usefulness of vWF deficiency as an adjunctive therapy to decrease the coagulation process during xenograft rejection.

To evaluate the relative role of plasma and platelet von Willebrand factor (vWF) pools in hemostasis and arterial thrombogenesis, pigs with vW disease (vWD) were injected with vWF concentrate and/or grafted with bone marrow from a normal pig. Hemostasis was assessed by measurement of ear immersion bleeding time, factor VIII (FVIII) activity, and plasma and platelet vWF antigen levels. The thrombotic process was explored at 650 s(-1) and 1600 s(-1) in an ex vivo cylindrical perfusion chamber. Pigs with vWD exhibited a prolonged bleeding time (30 minutes) compared with normal pigs (5 minutes); in addition, they showed normal platelet adhesion and thrombus formation at 650 s(-1) but profoundly reduced platelet adhesion and thrombus formation at 1600 s(-1). Each experiment was performed before and 3 and 24 hours after injection of vWF concentrate. In our bleeding time study, only plasma vWF restoration induced a partial but delayed correction (24 hours postinjection), which was correlated with the highest measured level of FVIII activity. In the perfusion chamber model, restoration of plasma or platelet vWF pools resulted in similar partial correction of platelet adhesion and average thrombus size. In the perfused pigs, the maximum correction occurred 3 hours postinjection. Platelet deposition reached normal values after vWF concentrate was injected into a grafted pig. The present results suggest that when both plasma and platelet vWF levels are restored in vWD pigs, bleeding time and the thrombotic process are normalized according to different kinetics and with differing degrees of effectiveness.