Prevalence and characterization of antibiotic resistant Enterococcus faecalis in French cheeses

Prevalence of enterococci and antibiotic resistance profiles of Enterococcus faecalis was analyzed in 126 French cheeses from retail stores. Forty-four percent of pasteurized or thermised-milk cheeses, and up to 92% of raw-milk cheeses contained detectable enterococci. A total of 337 antibiotic resistant enterococci were isolated in 29% and 60% of pasteurized-milk and raw-milk cheeses, respectively. E. faecalis was the predominant antibiotic resistant species recovered (81%), followed by Enterococcus faecium (13%), and Enterococcus durans (6%). The most prevalent antibiotic resistances were tetracycline (Tet) and minocycline (Min), followed by erythromycin (Ery), kanamycin (Kan) and chloramphenicol (Cm). The most common multiple antibiotic resistance phenotype was Cm Ery Kan Min Tet. The occurrence of antibiotic genes, as searched by PCR, was 100 % for aph3′IIIa, 96 % for ermB, 90 % for tetM and 80 % for catA in isolates resistant to Kan, Ery, Tet or Cm, respectively. MLST analysis of 30 multidrug resistant E. faecalis revealed that ST19, CC21, CC25 and CC55 isolates were the most common in cheeses. In conclusion, as in many other European countries, French cheeses do contain enterococci with multiple antibiotics resistances. However, low occurrence of high-level gentamicin resistant or sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim-resistant enterococci and absence of vancomycin- or ampicillin- resistant enterococci indicate that cheeses cannot be considered as a major reservoir for nosocomial multi-drug resistant enterococci.     

Using X‐Ray Microtomography for Characterisation of Catalyst Particle Pore Structure

The use of a high‐energy synchrotron radiation source has permitted the introduction of high‐resolution X‐ray microtomography imaging as a method of non‐intrusive and non‐destructive three‐dimensional (3D)visualized characterization of porous media. The use of a combination of X‐ray microtomography, along with mercury porosimetry and Low Melting Point Alloy (LMPA) intrusion potentially provides a more complete approach to more accurate catalyst pore structure characterisation and modelling. This combined approach has been applied to the study of an industrial alumina catalysts support. The data collected from the study has been used to develop and generate an improved pore network model basis, in which both heterogeneity and hierarchy are considered in obtaining an improved pore architecture and pore size distribution.     

Generic and reflective graph transformations for checking and enforcement of modeling guidelines

In the automotive industry, the model driven development of software, today considered as the standard paradigm, is generally based on the use of the tool MATLAB Simulink/Stateflow. To increase the quality, the reliability, and the efficiency of the models and the generated code, checking and elimination of detected guideline violations defined in huge catalogs has become an essential task in the development process. It represents such a tremendous amount of boring work that it must necessarily be automated. In the past we have shown that graph transformation tools like Fujaba/MOFLON allow for the specification of single modeling guidelines on a very high level of abstraction and that guideline checking tools can be generated from these specifications easily. Unfortunately, graph transformation languages do not offer appropriate concepts for reuse of specification fragments—a MUST, when we deal with hundreds of guidelines. As a consequence we present an extension of MOFLON that supports the definition of generic rewrite rules and combines them with the reflective programming mechanisms of Java and the model repository interface standard Java Metadata Interface (JMI).     

Molecular phylogeny of Fv1

Alleles at the Fv1 gene of inbred mice confer resistance to infection and spread of vertically or horizontally transmitted murine leukemia viruses (MuLV). The nucleotide sequence of Fv1 bears similarity to the gag of a human endogenous retrovirus, HERV-L, but is more closely related to the gag-coding sequence of a newly described class of HERV-L-related mouse endogenous retroviruses designated MuERV-L. Both observations suggest an origin of Fv1 from endogenous gag sequences. The molecular definition of Fv1 provided an opportunity to determine the phylogeny of the gene among wild mice and its relation to MuERV-L. PCR primers, chosen to include most of the coding region of Fv1 for both the n and b alleles, were used to amplify sequences from animals of the genus Mus, which were then sequenced. Closely related products were obtained from almost all animals examined that evolved after the separation from Rattus, in which the homologous gene was shown to be absent. A phylogenetic tree generated with Fv1 sequence data differs noticeably from that developed with sequence data from other genes. In addition, non-synonymous changes were found to be present twice as frequently as synonymous changes, a fact that departs from the standard behavior of a structural gene. These observations suggest that the Fv1 gene may have been subjected to possible horizontal transfers as well as to positive Darwinian selection.     

Mechanism of carbon–nitrogen bond scission in the presence of H2S on Pt Supported catalysts

The reactivity of a series of amines with various structures and different numbers of hydrogen atoms on the carbon atoms in the and position was used to evidence the C–N bond scission mechanism in the presence of H₂S on Pt based catalysts (deposited on alumina, zirconia and silica–alumina) and compare it with the mechanism on a NiMoP on alumina sulfide catalyst. The effect of the H₂S partial pressure was also checked. Catalytic activities (amine overall conversion, C₅ hydrocarbon formation, and amine disproportionation) deeply depend on the structure of the N-containing molecule. Tert-pentylamine is the most reactive molecule for sulfide catalysts whereas, in the case of n-pentylamine, Pt on zirconia was found to be the most efficient for C–N bond breaking. Such properties cannot be related to the acidic properties of the support but to a unique support–metal interaction, since alumina or silica–alumina supported platinum catalysts do not present this behaviour.     

New nanostructured carbons based on porous cellulose: Elaboration,pyrolysis and use as platinum nanoparticles substrate for oxygen reduction electrocatalysis

New nanostructured carbons have been prepared from pyrolysis of recently developed highly porous cellulose, aerocellulose (AC). Aerocellulose is an ultra-light and highly porous pure cellulose material prepared from cellulose gels followed by drying in carbon dioxide supercritical conditions. The carbonized aerocellulose (CAC) materials were obtained after pyrolysis of the aerocellulose under nitrogen flow at 830 °C, and subsequently doped by platinum nanoparticles. The platinum insertion process consisted of (i) thermal activation at various temperatures in CO₂ atmosphere, (ii) impregnation by PtCl₆²⁻ and (iii) platinum salt chemical reduction. The aerocellulose materials and their carbonized counterparts were investigated by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), mercury porosimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. The morphology of the platinum particles deposited on the carbonized aerocellulose materials (Pt/CAC) was investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD): the Pt particles are of 4–5 nm size, mainly agglomerated, as a result of the complex surface chemistry of the CAC. Their electrocatalytic activity was investigated by quasi-steady-state voltammetry in the rotating disk electrode (RDE) setup, regarding the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The Pt/CAC materials exhibit ORR specific activities comparable with those of commercial Pt/Vulcan XC72R. Their mass activity is lower, as a result of the ca. 10 times smaller specific area of platinum as compared with the commercial electrocatalyst. We nevertheless believe that provided an appropriate pyrolysis temperature is chosen, such green carbonized aerocellulose could be a promising electrocatalyst support for PEM application.     

Influence of the matrix constituent on mode I and mode II delamination toughness in fiber-reinforced polymer composites under cyclic fatigue

Mode I and mode II fracture behaviour under static and dynamic loading was analyzed in two composites made up of the same reinforcement though embedded in two different matrices. Specifically, the delamination energy under static and dynamic loading was obtained for both materials and both fracture modes, i.e. the number of cycles necessary for the onset of fatigue delamination. Subsequently, the crack growth rate (delamination rate) was obtained for different percentages of the critical energy rate. The main goal of the study was to ascertain the influence of the matrix on the behaviour of the laminate under fatigue loading.From the experimental results for the onset of delamination, similar fatigue behaviour was observed at a low number of cycles for both matrices and both fracture modes, while in fatigue at a high number of cycles, a higher fatigue limit was obtained in the composite with the modified resin (higher toughness) for both fracture modes. From the point of view of crack growth rate, both materials behaved similarly for different levels of stress under fatigue and the two fracture modes for small crack lengths (initial growth zone < 5 mm), although the growth rate increased for large crack lengths. This behaviour was the same in both loading modes.     

Simulation of synthetic climate at local scale as a mean to assess the impact of climate change on infrastructures

A global modelling approach for estimating the climate influence on corrosion activity in reinforced concrete is developed. It combines: (a) the identification of statistical properties of climates in various temperate regions, and the development of a synthetic simulator able to reproduce its dominant patterns, (b) the identification of an empirical corrosion activity model, based on the analysis of experimental data, highlighting the respective influence of temperature and humidity. Synthetic simulations combining these two models are carried out. They show the complexity of the interactions, since the influence of temperature and humidity may be adverse, and the interest to describe both random fluctuations at daily scale and at seasonal scale. They confirm that monitoring of corrosion must account for this time variability and propose a way to estimate average corrosion even with measurements which would remain limited to a short period. Synthetic simulations are also used for estimating the influence of a global warming scenario on the corrosion activity. A global increase of about 38% of corrosion activity has been estimated in response to an average temperature elevation of 3°C.