A microplate assay to measure classical and alternative complement activity.

Background: We developed and validated a kinetic microplate hemolytic assay (HA) to quantify classical and alternative complement activity in a single dilution of human plasma or serum.

Methods: The assay is based on monitoring hemolysis of sensitized sheep (or uncoated rabbit) red blood cells by means of a 96-well microplate reader. The activity of the calibrator was evaluated by reference to 200 healthy adults.

Ship breaking or scuttling? A review of environmental, economic and forensic issues for decision support.

In a globalized world, the world trade fleet plays a pivotal role in limiting transport costs. But, the management of obsolete ships is an acute problem, with most Ship Recycling Facilities (SRF) situated in developing countries. They are renowned for their controversial work and safety conditions and their environmental impact.

Using metabarcoding to reveal and quantify plant-pollinator interactions.

Given the ongoing decline of both pollinators and plants, it is crucial to implement effective methods to describe complex pollination networks across time and space in a comprehensive and high-throughput way. Here we tested if metabarcoding may circumvent the limits of conventional methodologies in detecting and quantifying plant-pollinator interactions. Metabarcoding experiments on pollen DNA mixtures described a positive relationship between the amounts of DNA from focal species and the number of trnL and ITS1 sequences yielded.

Modulation of gene expression in CD4+ T lymphocytes following in vitro HIV infection: a comparison between human and chimpanzee.

Chimpanzees are susceptible to experimental infection by human deficiency virus (HIV)-1, but unlike humans, they exceptionally develop an immunodeficiency syndrome after HIV-1 inoculation. To explore the difference between human and chimpanzee, we analyzed the expression of 1547 genes of various functions in human or chimpanzee CD4+ lymphoblasts inoculated in vitro with HIV-1. We observed that, 1 day after HIV inoculation, fifty-eight genes were up-regulated in lymphoblasts of the three humans while their expression remained unchanged in lymphoblasts of the three chimpanzees.

Effect of Different Amendments on Growing of Canna indica L. Inoculated with AMF on Mining Substrate.

Canna indica L. (CiL) was used here in phytoremediation of mining soils. Our work evaluated the effect of AMF (i) on the growth and (ii) on the uptake of heavy metals (HM).

Biodegradation of organic compounds during co-composting of olive oil mill waste and municipal solid waste with added rock phosphate.

Liquid and solid olive oil mill waste was treated by com posting in a mixture with the organic part of municipal solid waste and rock phosphate. The transformations that occurred during the process were evaluated by physical, chemical and spectroscopic analyses. After five months of com posting, the final compost presented a C/N ratio under 20, an NH4+/NO3(-)] ratio under 1 and a pH around neutral.

Morphological and color differences between island and mainland populations in the Mexican red rump tarantula, Brachypelma vagans.

The introduction of species into new ecosystems, especially in small and isolated regions such as islands, offers an excellent opportunity to answer questions of the evolutionary processes occurring in natural conditions on a scale that could never be achieved in laboratory conditions. In this study, we examined the Mexican red rump tarantula Brachypelma vagans Ausserer (Mygalomorphae: Theraphosidae), a species that was introduced to Cozumel Island, Mexico, 40 years ago. This introduction provides an exceptional model to study effects such as morphological variation between island populations and those on the mainland in open habitats facing the island.

Characterization of Freshwater Diatom Communities: Comparing Taxonomic and Genetic-Fingerprinting Approaches.

Benthic diatom assemblages from five sampling sites located on two rivers were characterized simultaneously by means of traditional microscopic observations and PCR-DGGE fingerprinting with primers specifically designed for Bacillariophyceae. Community structure, richness, and diversity assessed by both methods were compared. Diatom lists obtained from morphological identification were separated into subsets, depending on (i) the taxonomic level considered (genus, species, variety) and, for each of them, (ii) the relative abundance (RA) of each component (the whole data set, RA > 1%, RA > 2%).

Lead uptake, toxicity, and detoxification in plants.

Lead has gained considerable attention as a persistent toxic pollutant of concern,partly because it has been prominent in the debate concerning the growing anthropogenic pressure on the environment. The purpose of this review is to describe how plants take lead up and to link such uptake to the ecotoxicity of lead in plants.Moreover, we address the mechanisms by which plants or plant systems detoxify lead.

A case of zootherapy with the tarantula Brachypelma vagans Ausserer, 1875 in traditional medicine of the Chol Mayan ethnic group in Mexico.

Background: In practically every human culture, the use of arthropods as medicinal resources has been reported. In Mexico, the Mayan people mainly use plants but occasionally also animals and minerals in their medicine. This article is the first to report the traditional use of the tarantula Brachypelma vagans by medicine men in the Chol community, an ancient indigenous group that inhabits the southeastern part of Mexico.

Influence of the MHC genotype on the progression of experimental SIV infection in the Mauritian cynomolgus macaque.

Experimental infection of Mauritian cynomolgus macaques by simian immunodeficiency virus is a representative model of HIV infection, currently in favour for evaluating the efficacy of new preventive or curative treatments. Extensive studies of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) polymorphism by microsatellites revealed seven haplotypes (H1-H7). We present statistical evidence of the influence of MHC polymorphism on the set-point plasma viral load (PVL).

Human fibroblasts share immunosuppressive properties with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

Introduction: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) and adipose tissue-derived stem cells share immunosuppressive capacities, suggesting that the latter could be a general property of stromal cells.

Methods: To check this hypothesis, we compared human BM-MSC and fibroblasts for their in vitro multi-potentiality, expandability and their immunomodulatory properties under normalized optimized culture conditions.

Results: We report that, unlike BM-MSCs, fibroblasts cannot differentiate in vitro into adipocytes and osteoblasts and differ from BM-MSCs by the expression of membrane CD106, CD10 and CD26 and by the expression of collagen VII mRNA.

Structural study of humic acids during composting of activated sludge-green waste: elemental analysis, FTIR and 13C NMR.

The humic acids extracted from a compost of activated sludge at different stages of maturity were characterized by various chemical techniques. Elemental analysis showed the reduction of H, and the H/C and C/N ratios and an increase in the proportion of N and S. At the end of composting C% and O% presented the same values as initially, although they increased in the intermediate stage.

Complex interactions between a legume and two grasses in a subalpine meadow.

Interactions between plants are a complex combination of positive and negative interactions, with the net outcome depending on environmental contexts. The more frequent association of Trifolium alpinum (legume) with Festuca eskia than with Nardus stricta (grasses) in many Pyrenean subalpine meadows suggests a differential ability to use nitrogen (N) derived from N(2) fixation. In the field, we investigated the interactions between the legume and grasses and, in the glasshouse, the transfer of (15)N from the legume to the grasses.

Bioavailability of Cu and Zn in raw and anaerobically digested pig slurry.

The impact of anaerobic digestion on the bioavailability of copper and zinc from pig slurry was assessed. Both chemical and biological approaches were used independently on raw slurry (RS) and anaerobically digested pig slurry (DS). This work, using ultracentrifugation pellets from the same pig slurry before and after an anaerobic treatment, confirmed that Cu and Zn behave differently in terms of bioavailability, and contrasting results were obtained by chemical and biological assessments.

Herbicide accumulation and evolution in reservoir sediments.

The aim of the present study was to understand the effect of reservoir configurations on sediment pesticide fate. Two dams were selected on the River Garonne, in southwest France: Carbonne and Golfech, both with reservoirs subject to accumulation of herbicide-contaminated sediment. They are situated upstream and downstream respectively of an agricultural and urban area: the Mid-Garonne.

Aerobic biodegradation of sludge from the effluent of a vegetable oil processing plant mixed with household waste: physical-chemical, microbiological, and spectroscopic analysis.

Sludge from a sewage treatment plant dealing with the effluent produced during the processing of crude vegetable oil (Lesieur-Cristal, Morocco) was composted in two mixtures (M1 and M2) with household waste obtained from landfill. The different physico-chemical characteristics of the final composts after 5 months of composting were, for M1 and M2, respectively: pH: 8.5 and 7.

Physico-chemical analysis of tannery solid waste and structural characterization of its isolated humic acids after composting.

In Marrakech, solid by-products from tanneries are highly polluting, generating large amounts of nitrogenous and organic matter. In the present study composting is tested as a cost-effective method for waste management to overcome many of the environmental hazards and produce a stable, rich material for soil fertilization. Two composting trials were conducted after neutralization by ammonia or lime.

The fulvic acid fraction as it changes in the mature phase of vegetable oil-mill sludge and domestic waste composting.

Sludge resulting from the treatment of effluent from a vegetable oil mill, was composted mixed with domestic waste in a pile for five months. Different proportions of sludge and dry waste were mixed: M1 (1v/2v) and M2 (1v/1v). Monitoring different physical-chemical parameters showed the effect of the substrate on the microbiological activity and on the formation of fulvic acids, affecting the maturity of the final compost.

Thymic output and peripheral T lymphocyte subsets in relapsing--remitting multiple sclerosis patients treated or not by IFN-beta.

We explored the parameters of central and peripheral tolerance in patients with stable relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, treated or not with IFN-beta. TREC-positive T cells were lower in patients compared with controls, mainly in CD4+ subset, compatible with a thymus dysfunction or an expansion of peripheral lymphocytes. Compared to controls, the frequency of activated CD4+CD25+ T cells was higher in patients without modification of the CD4+CD25(high) T cell proportion.

Particle size and metal distributions in anaerobically digested pig slurry.

Particle size distribution and trace element patterns were studied in a full-scale anaerobic digestion plant treating pig slurry. Mass balance was established for major (N, P, K, Ca, Fe, Mg and S) and minor (Al, Cu, Mn and Zn) elements. Most of the elements were conserved through the process but part of the P, Ca, Mg and Mn was deposited as crystals lining the digester.