Immunogold detection of types I and II chondrocyte collagen fibrils: an in situ atomic force microscopic investigation

Chondrocyte tissue engineering is a major challenge in the field of cartilage repair. The phenotype of chondrocytes consists of cartilage specific proteoglycan and type II collagen. During serial passages, chondrocytes dedifferentiate into cells, presenting a fibroblast-like phenotype consisting predominately of type I collagen synthesis. Observation of native collagen fibers could be visualized by atomic force microscope. Here, we developed an original and useful atomic force microscopy-based immunogold technique allowing biochemical distinction between types I and II collagen fibers. Imaging of 40-nm gold particles staining collagen fibers was performed in tapping mode. Rat 1 fibroblasts and human chondrosarcoma cells were used as positive models for types I and II collagen, respectively. As demonstrated by our data, primary rat chondrocytes adhering for 48 h on a glass substrate synthesize type II collagen native fibers. This technique allows analyses of local areas of the extracellular matrix of fixed cells, providing complementary data about cartilage phenotype. This simple approach could be of major interest for the biologist community in routine laboratory investigations, to localize in situ, macromolecules of the extracellular matrix.     

Pyromètre à fibre optique pour la mesure des basses températures

Optical fibres made of fluoride glass allow surface temperature measurement of various objects uneasy to reach, mobile or located in adverse environments. Such an infrared fibre, with transmittance extending beyond 5 μm, allows transmission ofIr radiation to anIr sensor which transforms it into a usable signal. The set-up realised can take measurements down to 50 °C, and 30 °C in a next future. The sensor signal is pre-amplified and then processed by a lock-in amplifier. AnIr reference internal source is used to deliver a known constant level to the sensor and allows absolute temperature measurements. The present measurement accuracy obtained with a blackbody at 200 °C is ± 0.5 °C. We are about to use such a device for monitoring irradiated fuel rods temperature in the Superphenix 1 breeder power plant.     

Fabrication of a miniaturized cell using microsystem technologies for electrochemical applications

A new type of electrochemical cell has been developed for use in electrochemical, chemical and biological applications. Using a platinum microelectrode as working electrode, this cell incorporates a silver microelectrode as reference electrode. These microelectrodes, whose area is equal to 1 μm², were fabricated using photolithography, sputtering, and focused ion beam (FIB) technologies since these micro-fabrication techniques allow us to develop miniaturized electrochemical cells useful either for nanoelectrochemistry or biosensors applications. In this study, we show it is possible to coat a surface by chemical or biological compounds by immersing the microelectrodes in a solution, then setting a difference of potential between the two microelectrodes of the cell. For example, we used this miniaturized cell to realize the electrochemical polymerization of aniline into polyaniline to show that this electrochemical cell is efficient to coat a surface with a thin film of polymer.     

Phosphorus fertility recapitalization of nutrient-depleted tropical acid soils with reactive phosphate rock: An assessment using the isotopic exchange technique

A soil P fertility recapitalization initiative utilizinglarge rates of phosphate rocks (PRs) was proposed to improve the soil P statusand increase the sustainable food production in acid and P-deficient tropicalsoils. Two series of experiments were carried out using five tropical acidsoilstreated with heavy applications of Gafsa phosphate rock (GPR). In the firstseries, the soils were mixed with GPR at the following application rates: 0,500, 1000 and 2000 mg P·kg^–1, andincubatedfor one month in moist conditions. In another series, 1000 mg Pkg^–1 applied as GPR was added to three soils andincubated for 1.5 month; thereafter 50 mg P kg^–1as triple superphosphate (TSP) were added. The ³²P isotopic exchangemethod was utilized to assess the contribution of GPR to the available soil P.Changes in amounts, E, of P transferred with time as phosphate ions from thesoil particles to the soil solution as well as changes in pH, calcium andphosphate concentrations in soil suspensions were determined. It was foundthat:(i) the contribution of P from GPR to recapitalization of soil P fertility wasmainly assessed by E pool size, pH, calcium and phosphate concentrations; othervariables were not significant at the 0.1 level; (ii) heavy applications of GPRdid not saturate all the P sorption sites, P freshly applied as water-soluble Pwas still sorbed; (iii) recapitalization of soil P fertility using GPR waspartly obtained in some acid tropical soils; (iv) Upon dissolution, GPRprovidedcalcium ions to crops and to soils, thus reducing Al toxicity, but its limingeffect was limited. To explain these effects with heavy application rates ofGPR, it was postulated that a coating of Al and Fe compounds is formed aroundPRparticles with time, thus reducing further dissolution.     

Molecular weight determination of an optically active polysulfonamide (PLL) synthetized by interfacial polycondensation

Summary In order to study their molecular weight, optically active polysulfonamides were investigated by light scattering and viscosity measurements. The corresponding MARK-HOUWINK type relation is established.     

Dynamic processes on vanadium phosphorous oxides for selective alkane oxidation

The use of complementary physicochemical tools (XRD, Raman spectroscopy, XPS, ³¹P NMR, and electron microscopy techniques), sometimes used in in situ conditions has allowed to evidence the dynamic processes occurring during the oxidation of light alkanes on the vanadium phosphorus oxide (VPO) system. The transformations of the VPO system in the course of the oxidation of n-butane to maleic anhydride and of the oxidation of propane to acrylic acid are contrasted in connection with the evolution of the catalytic performances.     

Modeling and finite element analysis of mechanical behavior of flexible MEMS components

This paper describes the studies of the mechanical characteristics of flexible MEMS components including theoretical approaches, finite element analysis and experimental investigations. Modeling and finite element analyses together with theoretical and experimental investigations are performed to estimate the elastic behavior of MEMS components as microcantilevers, microbridges and micromembranes. Finite element analysis of microcomponents deflections under different loading and the stress distribution in beams are determined and compared with the experimental measurements performed using an atomic force microscope. The modeling of a micromembrane supported by four hinges that enable out-of-plane motion is presented. Finite element analysis and experimental investigations are performed to visualize the deflection of the mobile part of the micromembrane under an applied force and the stress distribution in hinges. In additional, this paper provides analytical relations to compute the stiffness and the stress of the investigated flexible MEMS components.     

On embedded FIR filter models for identifying continuous-time and discrete-time transfer functions: the RPM approach

For identifying a continuous-time (CT) transfer function model, data filtering is a solution which provides the necessary unmeasurable input--output derivative approximations. In discrete-time (DT) system identification, the well-known ARX model can be used successfully if the estimate is performed with suitable prefiltered data. This article describes the reinitialised partial moment (RPM) model which embeds implicitly a finite impulse response filter in both CT and DT domains. With knowledge of the important role of data prefiltering in standard methods, this RPM model embedded filter gives particular properties to this original tool. Although both the CT RPM model and the DT RPM model present an embedded filter, the formulation and the implementation in the CT and the DT domains are different. Therefore, the aim of this article is to present a tutorial on the RPM models and to give an overview of all the applications.     

SimLocator: robust locator of similar objects in images

Similar objects commonly appear in natural images, and locating and cutting out these objects can be tedious when using classical interactive image segmentation methods. In this paper, we propose SimLocator, a robust method oriented to locate and cut out similar objects with minimum user interaction. After extracting an arbitrary object template from the input image, candidate locations of similar objects are roughly detected by distinguishing the shape and color features of each image. A novel optimization method is then introduced to select accurate locations from the two sets of candidates. Additionally, a matting-based method is used to improve the results and to ensure that all similar objects are located in the image. Finally, a method based on alpha matting is utilized to extract the precise object contours. To ensure the performance of the matting operation, this work has developed a new method for foreground extraction. Experiments show that SimLocator is more robust and more convenient to use compared to other more advanced repetition detection and interactive image segmentation methods, in terms of locating similar objects in images.