Numerical simulation of heat and mass transfer during the absorption of hydrogen in a magnesium hydride

This paper presents a numerical work aiming at the prediction of the characteristics of an industrial tank filled with hydrides for hydrogen storage. A validation of the method is given and is followed by the resolution of an example which shows the importance of achieving a three-dimensional modelling for the design of an industrial tank. Finally, recent results obtained on a magnesium hydride laboratory tank are given.     

Qualitative and quantitative comparison of pollen calendars for plain and mountain areas

A comparison of the quantity and the quality of pollen content in the atmosphere of two regions, one of the plains bordering the Mediterranean sea (altitude 40 m), the other of the mountains of the Pyrenees (altitude 1550 m), was made during the climatological year 1974-1975. The method which was used intercepts the pollen flux of the atmosphere with a vertical filtering unit, which is exposed facing the direction of wind on the filtering door of the weather-vane and collects much larger quantities of pollen than the other techniques of collection. The atmospheric currents displace from one region to another numerous spores and pollens, the trajectories of which are directly influenced by the general circulation of the atmosphere. The density of these fluxes can be very large, reaching 2500 grains/m3 of air at M.T.P.R. in the last week of January; the taxons collected are very numerous (more than 700). The atmospheric transfer of pollen modifies largely the pollen content of the atmosphere of different flowering domains. These interferences manifest themselves in the simplest cases by the presence of two peaks of concentration, the principal corresponding to the local efflorescence, the second to the pollen transferred from other regions. The pollen concentrations in the mountains are one-third of those in the plains. Pollination in the mountains is several weeks late in comparison to the plain during the first semester, whereas during the second semester, it is the plains that show a certain delay. These findings show why some allergic patients who go to the mountains during summer are affected twice by pollination.     

Effects of exogenous hormones and glucose on plasma levels and hepatic metabolism of amino acids in the fetus and in the newborn rat

The present study examines the role of insulin, glucagon and cortisol in the regulation of gluconeogenesis from lactate and amino acids in fetal and newborn rats. Injection of glucagon in the full-term fetal rat caused a rise in glucose (and insulin) and a fall in blood levels of most individual amino acids, stimulated hepatic accumulation of 14C-amino isobutyric acid and 14C-cycloleucine and increased the conversion of 14C lactate, alanine and serine to glucose in vivo and in vitro (liver slices). Such changes were equivalent to the changes seen in 4 h old newborn rats. When glucagon was administered at birth, little difference was observed between control and treated animals in plasma amino acids and a smaller increment in conversion of 14C substrate to glucose occurred. By contrast, insulin injection at birth caused hypoglycemia, suppression of levels of certain amino acids and inhibition of conversion of 14C substrates into glucose. Glucose injection at birth caused elevated glycemia and plasma insulin and suppression of most amino acid levels and of conversion of 14C substrate into glucose. Cortisol injection at birth caused a marked, generalized by hyperaminoacidemia, a stimulation of glucagon secretion and of conversion of 14C substrates into glucose. These observations support the thesis that glucagon plays a major role in the induction of hepatic gluconeogenesis and that insulin acts as an antagonist hormone.     

Products of pertechnetate radiolysis in highly alkaline solution: structure of TcO2 x xH2O

The chemistry of technetium in certain high-level nuclear waste (HLW) tanks at the Hanford Site complicates the treatment and vitrification of HLW. A major problem is the presence, in certain tanks, of unidentified, lower-valent technetium species, which are difficult to remove from the waste by current separation processes. Radiolytic reduction of TcO4- in alkaline solutions containing selected organic compounds, approximating the conditions in HLW, was investigated to determine the classes of compounds that can be formed under these conditions. Insoluble TcO2 x xH2O is the primary radiolysis product with the majority of organic compounds investigated, including citrate, dibutyl phosphate, and aminopolycarboxylates. X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurements show that TcO2 x xH2O has a one-dimensional chain structure consisting of edge-sharing TcO6 octahedra with bridging oxide and trans water ligands. When diols, such as ethylene glycol, are present, only soluble, Tc(IV) alkoxide compounds are produced. The XAFS and UV-visible spectra of these compounds provide evidence for a binuclear structure similar to (H2EDTA)2Tc2(mu-O)2. The properties of the Tc(IV) alkoxide complexes were determined and are consistent with those observed for the soluble, lower-valent technetium complexes that complicate the treatment of HLW at the Hanford site.     

Risk based management of contaminated sediments: consideration of spatial and temporal patterns in exposure modeling

This paper addresses interactions among foraging behavior, habitat preferences, site characteristics, and spatial distribution of contaminants in developing PCB exposure estimates for winter flounder at a hypothetical open water dredged material disposal site in the coastal waters of New York and New Jersey (NY-NJ). The implications of these interactions for human health risk estimates for local recreational anglers who fish for and eat flounder are described. The models implemented in this study include a spatial submodel to account for spatial and temporal characteristics of fish exposures and a probabilistic adaptation of the Gobas bioaccumulation model that accounts for temporal variation in concentrations of hydrophobic contaminants in sediment and water. We estimated the geographic distribution of a winter flounder subpopulation offshore of NY-NJ based on species biology and its vulnerability to local recreational fishing, the foraging area of individual fish, and their migration patterns. We incorporated these parameters and an estimate of differential attraction to a management site into a spatially explicit model to assess the range of exposures within the population. The output of this modeling effort, flounder PCB tissue concentrations, provided exposure point concentrations for an estimate of human health risk through ingestion of locally caught flounder. The risks obtained for the spatially nonexplicit case are as much as 1 order of magnitude higher than those obtained with explicit consideration of spatial and temporal characteristics of winter flounder foraging and seasonal migration. This practice of "defaulting" to extremely conservative estimates for exposure parameters in the face of uncertainty ill serves the decision-making process for management of contaminated sediments in general and specifically for disposal of dredged materials. Consideration of realistic spatial and temporal scales in food chain models can help support sediment management decisions by providing a quantitative expression of the confidence in risk estimates.     

An electrochemical bioassay for dichlorvos analysis in durum wheat samples

The use of an acetylcholinesterase inhibition assay for the detection of dichlorvos in durum wheat samples by a simplified extraction procedure is reported. After an incubation step, the residual activity was determined with an amperometric biosensor using a portable potentiostat. The use of electric eel and recombinant acetylcholinesterase was compared. The effect of the matrix extract was evaluated by using various sample:solvent ratios, 1:2.5, 1:5, 1:10, and 1:20. The optimal extraction ratio, considering the electrochemical interferences and the effect on enzyme activity and bioavailability of the pesticide, was 1:10. Calibrations were performed in buffer and durum wheat extract. The calculated detection limits in buffer solution were 10 ng/ ml and 0.045 ng/ml for electric eel and recombinant acetylcholinesterase, respectively, whereas operating in the matrix extract they increased up to 45 ng/ml and 0.07 ng/ml, corresponding to 0.45 mg/kg (extraction ratio 1:10) and 0.07 mg/kg in samples. These characteristics allowed the detection of contaminated samples at the maximum residue limit, which is 2 mg/kg and well below. Fortified samples of durum wheat were obtained with both dichlorvos and the commercial product Didivane, which contains dichlorvos as an active molecule. At all the tested levels, the occurrence of contaminant was detected with an average recovery of 75%. The total assay time, including the extraction step, was 30 min. Because several extractions as well as most of the assay steps can be run simultaneously, the throughput for one operator is 12 determinations per hour.     

In vitro interactions between DMSA-coated maghemite nanoparticles and human fibroblasts: A physicochemical and cyto-genotoxical study

Although the current production of oxide nanoparticles may be modest, the wide range of proposed applications and forecasted growth in production has raised questions about the potential impact of these nanoparticles on the environment and human health. Iron oxide nanoparticles have been proposed for an increasing number of biomedical applications although in vitro toxicity depending on the particles coating has been evidenced. The aim of this study was to examine the potential in vitro cyto- and genotoxicity on human dermal fibroblasts of DMSA-coated maghemite nanoparticles (NmDMSA) as a function of well-defined physicochemical states. Well-stabilized NmDMSA produced weak cytotoxic and no genotoxic effects. This is attributed in part to the DMSA coating, which serves as a barrier for a direct contact between nano-oxide and fibroblasts, inhibiting a potential toxic effect.     

Identification of staphylococci and dominant lactic acid bacteria in spontaneously fermented Swiss meat products using PCR-RFLP

Pathogenic, spoilage, and technologically important microorganisms were monitored in 21 spontaneously fermented Swiss meat products manufactured with meat from wildlife or animals grown in natural habitat. Thereby, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) on rpoB and 16S rRNA gene sequences provided a powerful tool for fast and accurate identification of the main microbial population. Lactobacillus sakei and Lactobacillus curvatus dominated in fermented meat products followed by Staphylococcus species, which constituted 88.2% of all Gram-positive, catalase-positive cocci (GCC⁺) with cell counts varying from 2.6 to 7.0 log cfu/g during maturation. Staphylococcus equorum was prevalent in frequency and cell counts during maturation (18.0%; 5.0-7.3 log cfu/g) and in the end products (28.4%; 1.8-6.2 log cfu/g) implicating a new presumptive starter species for meat fermentation. Nine out of 14 end products indicated safety risks to consumers due to the high incidence of Staphylococcus saprophyticus or Staphylococcus epidermidis combined with cell counts of 7.4 and 4.9 log cfu/g, respectively. This fact was supported by the detection of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacteriaceae in ready-to-eat products strongly exceeding the tolerable limit of 2 log cfu/g. Spontaneously fermented meat products produced from wildlife or animals grown in natural habitats not only gave rise to hygienic and safety concerns but also provided new presumptive starter strains.     

A New Strategy to Preserve and Assess Oxygen Consumption in Murine Tissues

Mitochondrial dysfunctions are implicated in several pathologies, such as metabolic, cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological diseases, as well as in cancer and aging. These metabolic alterations are usually assessed in human or murine samples by mitochondrial respiratory chain enzymatic assays, by measuring the oxygen consumption of intact mitochondria isolated from tissues, or from cells obtained after physical or enzymatic disruption of the tissues. However, these methodologies do not maintain tissue multicellular organization and cell-cell interactions, known to influence mitochondrial metabolism. Here, we develop an optimal model to measure mitochondrial oxygen consumption in heart and lung tissue samples using the XF24 Extracellular Flux Analyzer (Seahorse) and discuss the advantages and limitations of this technological approach. Our results demonstrate that tissue organization, as well as mitochondrial ultrastructure and respiratory function, are preserved in heart and lung tissues freshly processed or after overnight conservation at 4 °C. Using this method, we confirmed the repeatedly reported obesity-associated mitochondrial dysfunction in the heart and extended it to the lungs. We set up and validated a new strategy to optimally assess mitochondrial function in murine tissues. As such, this method is of great potential interest for monitoring mitochondrial function in cohort samples.     

Compressibility and relaxation of fiber reinforcements during composite processing

In many reinforced composite manufacturing processes it is necessary to compact the fiber materials to obtain the desired fiber/resin ratio in the finished part. Detailed knowledge of applied surface force versus material fiber volume is particularly important in processes such as pultrusion, resin transfer molding, and compression molding. The force required to compact a stack of reinforcing material is strongly dependent on the type of fiber used and its material form. Complicated interactions are possible, particularly when mixtures of unidirectional, oriented cloth and random fiber mats are used. This paper will present results of an experimental and analytical investigation of the response of various dry reinforcing materials subjected to compressive forces applied normal to their principle plane. Experiments were conducted by applying up to 8.6 MPa normal force to thick stacks of E-glass, graphite cloth, mat and unidirectional material and combinations of two different fiber orientation. Pressure versus fiber volume data were generated for both individual materials and various combinations. Experimental results were compared to analytical predictions. Data showed that the force versus deformation is very strongly dependent on the details of the fiber form or forms being used. There is structural relaxation during fiber compression. Relaxation is very related to fiber orientation, span length, and fiber breakage during compaction. Relaxation behavior decreases with fiber alignment. Random mats and 0/90 cloth show much more relaxation than unidirectional fibers. Data of relaxation is very well fitted with a Maxwell-Wiechert viscoelastic model.