Microbial communities and their role in enhancing hemp fiber quality through field retting.

The current development of industrial hemp "Cannabis Sativa L." fibers for technical textiles and industrial applications requires high-quality fibers with homogeneous properties. However, several factors have been reported to influence the fibers' intrinsic properties, including a post-harvest process known as retting.

Estimating the bias related to DNA recovery from hemp stems for retting microbial community investigation.

The industrial hemp plant Cannabis sativa is a source of vegetable fiber for both textiles and biocomposite applications. After harvesting, the plant stems are laid out on the ground and colonized by microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) naturally present in the soil and on the stems. By producing hydrolytic enzymes that degrade the plant wall polymers, the natural cement that binds the fiber bundles together is removed, thus facilitating their dissociation (retting process) which is required for producing high-performant fibers.

Chemical Recycling of Vacuum-Infused Thermoplastic Acrylate-Based Composites Reinforced by Basalt Fabrics.

The objective of this work was to compare the material recovered from different chemical recycling methodologies for thermoplastic acrylate-based composites reinforced by basalt fabrics and manufactured by vacuum infusion. Recycling was done via chemical dissolution with a preselected adapted solvent. The main goal of the study was to recover undamaged basalt fabrics in order to reuse them as reinforcements for "second-generation" composites.

Shear and Extensional Rheology of Linear and Branched Polybutylene Succinate Blends.

The molecular architecture and rheological behavior of linear and branched polybutylene succinate blends have been investigated using size-exclusion chromatography, small-amplitude oscillatory shear and extensional rheometry, in view of their processing using cast and blown extrusion. Dynamic viscoelastic properties indicate that a higher branched polybutylene succinate amount in the blend increases the relaxation time due to an increased long-chain branching degree. Branched polybutylene succinate exhibits pronounced strain hardening under uniaxial elongation, which is known to improve processability.

New Biosourced Flame Retardant Agents Based on Gallic and Ellagic Acids for Epoxy Resins.

The aim of this work was an investigation of the ability of gallic (GA) and ellagic (EA) acids, which are phenolic compounds encountered in various plants, to act as flame retardants (FRs) for epoxy resins. In order to improve their fireproofing properties, GA and EA were treated with boric acid (to obtain gallic acid derivatives (GAD) and ellagic acid derivatives (EAD)) to introduce borate ester moieties. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) highlighted the good charring ability of GA and EA, which was enhanced by boration.

Evolution of temporal dynamic of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and odors of hemp stem during field retting.

New non-destructive approach to evaluate the retting process was investigated. Increase of retting duration led to a decrease of VOCs emitted by plants and change of color and plant odor. The variation of VOCs and odor could be used as indicators for the degree of retting.

How to manage biocomposites wastes end of life? A life cycle assessment approach (LCA) focused on polypropylene (PP)/wood flour and polylactic acid (PLA)/flax fibres biocomposites.

Biocomposites has gained increasing attention in recent years. The environmental impacts of end-of-life (EoL) treatments of those emerging materials should be evaluated before they are produced and installed commercially, to ensure a minimal impact of these products all along their life cycle. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to evaluate environmental impacts of the EoL treatments of wood flour (WF) reinforced polypropylene (PP/WF) and flax fibers reinforced polylactic acid (PLA/Fl).

Indicators of long-term return to work after severe traumatic brain injury: A cohort study.

Background: Return to work (RTW) is a major objective in the rehabilitation of individuals with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Implications for long-term occupational integration (beyond 5 years) have rarely been studied.

Objective: The objective was to assess long-term RTW and the associated factors after severe TBI.

Road casualties in work-related and private contexts: occupational medical impact. Results from the ESPARR cohort.

Background: Road accidents may impact victims' physical and/or mental health and socio-occupational life, notably including return to work.

Objectives: To assess whether the occupational medical consequences sustained by subjects injured in road accidents occurring in a work-related context differ from those associated with private accidents.

Methods: 778 adults who were in work or occupational training at the time of their accident were included.

Sodium alginate adhesives as binders in wood fibers/textile waste fibers biocomposites for building insulation.

Alginate derived from seaweed is a natural polysaccharide able to form stable gel through carbohydrate functional groups largely used in the food and pharmaceutical industry. This article deals with the use of sodium alginate as an adhesive binder for wood fibres/textile waste fibres biocomposites. Several aldehyde-based crosslinking agents (glyoxal, glutaraldehyde) were compared for various wood/textile waste ratios (100/0, 50/50, 60/40, 70/30 and 0/100 in weight).

Long-term effectiveness of an educational and physical intervention for preventing low-back pain recurrence: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Low-back pain (LBP) is a common and recurrent condition, but the evidence is scarce about effective strategies to prevent recurrence and disability in the longer term. This study investigated the effect of a light exercise program, initiated in the workplace and continued at home, in reducing recurrence of LBP episodes among healthcare workers.

Methods: A total of 353 healthcare workers from ten hospitals were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and were randomized to the intervention or control groups, the latter of which received usual care.

Prevalence of cannabis and cocaine consumption in French fishermen in South Atlantic region in 2012-2013 and its policy consequences.

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the use of cannabis and cocaine among fishermen followed in occupational medicine in the ports of Aquitaine and Charente-Maritime (Direction interrégionale de la mer Sud-Atlantique [DIRM-SA]).

Materials And Methods: Thousand fishermen could be recruited during medical regulatory examination by the occupational physicians and nurses of Occupational Health Department for Seamen.

Results: About 20% of fishermen were former smokers.

Job Restrictions for Healthcare Workers with Musculoskeletal Disorders: Consequences from the Superior's Viewpoint.

Objective Many workers suffer from musculoskeletal disorders. In France, occupational physicians are able to set job aptitude restrictions obliging employers to adapt the worker's job. The present study explored the impact of job restriction from the point of view of the employees' supervisors.

Perception of the A/H1N1 influenza pandemic and acceptance of influenza vaccination by Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 staff: A descriptive study.

We assessed the perception and attitudes of university staff, including medical school and other science specialties, toward the 2009 A/H1N1 influenza pandemic and influenza vaccination program. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 4,529 university personnel on October 19-20, 2009. Seven hundred (15%) employees participated in the study.

[Professional risk factors associated with the cancer of the ovary. Literature review].

The aim of this work was to review the available literature on occupational risk factors associated with ovarian cancer. A PubMed search was performed using an algorithm with the following search terms: ovary, ovarian, exposure, work, occupation. Relevant articles were selected through assessment of titles and abstracts as well as through the reference lists of related articles.

Stimuli-responsive topological change of microstructured surfaces and the resultant variations of wetting properties.

It is now well established that topological microstructures play a key role in the physical properties of surfaces. Stimulus-induced variations of topological microstructure should therefore lead to a change in the physical properties of microstructured responsive surfaces. In this paper, we demonstrate that roughness changes alter the wetting properties of responsive organic surfaces.

Driving behaviors and on-duty road accidents: a French case-control study.

Objectives: A case-control study was carried out to identify driving behaviors associated with the risk of on-duty road accident and to compare driving behaviors according to the type of journey (on duty, commuting, and private) for on-duty road accident victims.

Methods: Cases were recruited from the Rhône Road Trauma Registry between January 2004 and October 2005 and were on duty at the time of the accident. Control subjects were recruited from the electoral rolls of the case subjects' constituencies of residence.

The PRESLO study: evaluation of a global secondary low back pain prevention program for health care personnel in a hospital setting. Multicenter, randomized intervention trial.

Background: Common low back pain represents a major public health problem in terms of its direct cost to health care and its socio-economic repercussions. Ten percent of individuals who suffer from low back pain evolve toward a chronic case and as such are responsible for 75 to 80% of the direct cost of low back pain. It is therefore imperative to highlight the predictive factors of low back pain chronification in order to lighten the economic burden of low back pain-related invalidity.

Occupational trichloroethylene exposure and cervical pathology: a case-control study.

Objectives: Trichloroethylene (TCE) is suspected of association with elevated risk of cervical cancer. A case-control study was performed in a geographical area in which occupational TCE exposure is high. The study objective was to analyze the correlation between occupational TCE exposure and cervical cancer (including precancerous conditions).

Work-related asthma in France: recent trends for the period 2001-2009.

Objective: Knowledge on the time-course (trends) of work-related asthma (WRA) remains sparse. The aim of this study was to describe WRA trends in terms of industrial activities and the main causal agents in France over the period 2001-2009.

Method: Data were collected from the French national network of occupational health surveillance and prevention (Réseau National de Vigilance et de Prévention des Pathologies Professionnelles (RNV3P)).

Prevalence of drug use in French seamen.

The main objective of the present study is to determine the prevalence of lifetime use and use in the past 30 days of narcotics in French seamen and to assess factors correlated with positive urine test in seamen as a whole. A stratified survey conducted in 19 French ports collected 1,928 self-administered questionnaires on cigarette, alcohol and narcotics consumption. Seafarers were randomly selected and interviewed during their annual seafaring aptitude consultation.

[Follow-up after occupational asbestos exposure: terms and devices in foreign].

Introduction: Diseases, including cancer induced by asbestos, usually occur after many years of latency. The follow-up of employees must therefore continue after the end of their employment (retirement, redundancy, etc.) and such an arrangement has existed in France since 1996.

Fast and specific detection of moderate long-term changes in occupational blood exposures.

Objectives: Hospital surveillance systems have been established to monitor occupational blood exposures. We compare short-term monitoring with long-term monitoring of data analysis over 11 years and 21 institutions to identify variations in the number of reported exposures.

Methods: Short-term monitoring examines the current number of exposures compared to their average over previous years.