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Liquid and crystallized phases stability in the sub-system H3PO4-H4P2O7: Experimental determination and modeling
No full textInternational audienc
Carrier material for bacterial biofilms formation: production of biocomposites to inoculate and treat pesticides contaminated soils via bioaugmentation
No full textInternational audienceSoil inoculation with active microorganisms is a key step for the success of bioaugmentation for on-site restoration of contaminated soils. Introducing the desired microorganisms as biofilm can favor their activity and survival once in soil. A key parameter for biofilm growth is the choice of the carrier material. In the frame of pesticides-contaminated agricultural soils bioremediation using bioaugmentation, the activity, viability and biodiversity of a bacterial MCPA- and 2,4-D-degrading consortium grown on various carrier materials was studied. For this, three natural materials (zeolite, pozzolana, oyster shell) as raw or modified (surface covering with Ca/fe-Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH)) carrier materials were used to support the development of the degrading consortium. Such an LDH composition was chosen as, if validated as non-toxic to bacteria, it will allow the introduction of nutrients into its structure to improve the bioaugmentation process. All carrier materials, modified or not, allowed the growth of a pesticide-degrading biofilm whose biodiversity mainly depended on the carrier material rather than on surface modification, even if the presence of LDH on zeolite increased (Pseudomonas) or decreased (Azohydromonas, Sphingopyxis) the proportion of some bacterial strains. LDH was non-toxic at the concentration (10 g L-1) used for carrier material surface modification, and lead to MCPA adsorption. All biocomposites, i.e. biofilm grown on a carrier material, had a MCPA- and 2,4-D-degrading activity, whatever the carrier material or LDH presence/absence. Pesticide biodegradation was rapid (DT50 < 1.5 days with initial [MCPA]=5 mg L-1) and mineralization (radiorespirometry experiments with labelled 2,4-D) was observed. Several MCPA-degrading strains (Pseudomonas, Rhodococcus, Cupriavidus, Variovorax, Ralstonia, Aminobacter) were isolated from the zeolite-biocomposite. In conclusion, biocomposites made from selected carrier materials and consortia with the desired biodiversity and degradation activity could improve soil bioaugmentation approach. Modification of the surface of the carrier material could be a mean to further improve this biotechnology
Isothermal Vapor–Liquid Equilibria of Binary Mixtures Containing N , N -Dimethylacetamide with 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene or Propan-2-ol or Dimethyl Sulfoxide
No full textInternational audienc
Perceived social competencies as moderators: examining the relationship between psychological distress and aggression, hostility, and anger in Lebanese adults
No full textInternational audienceIntroduction: The majority of people experience anger at some point in their lives when confronted with unpleasant situations. In social settings, anger can lead to aggressive and hostile in the absence of adequate social competences. Our study aims to examine the moderating role of perceived social competences in the association between psychological distress and anger expression (trait anger, hostility, physical aggression, and verbal aggression) among a sample of Lebanese adults.Methods: 403 participants above 18 years (the mean age was 24.56 ± 8.46) were enrolled in the cross-sectional study with 73% female participants. The candidates were asked to complete a structured questionnaire including the following scales: (1) Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire-Short Form (BPAQ-SF), (2) the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-8), (3) Perceived Social Competencies (PSC), and (4) The De Jong-Gierveld Loneliness Scale.Results: The interaction psychological distress by perceived social competence was not significantly associated with physical aggression, verbal aggression, or hostility but was significantly associated with anger. After adjusting the results over variables that showed a p <.25 in the bivariate analysis, this association was significant at low (Beta = 0.24; p <.001), moderate (Beta = 0.20; p <.001) and high (Beta = 0.16; p <.001) levels of perceived social competencies, where higher psychological distress was significantly associated with more anger. On another note, with higher perceived social competence, we find a decrease in levels of psychological distress in our sample.Conclusion: This study provided evidence that perceived social competencies such as communication skills, empathy and prosocial behaviors act as moderators in the association between psychological distress and anger. In future works, investigating and building advanced program in order to develop social competences of individuals might prove important. It is crucial to implement such strategies and projects in schools: this educational setting could be fruitful in a way that social skills could be instilled during childhood and anger-aggressive behaviors could be managed throughout adulthood
Influence of Bioceramic Cements on the Quality of Obturation of the Immature Tooth: An In Vitro Microscopic and Tomographic Study
No full textThe present in vitro study focuses on the filling ability of three different bioceramic cements with or without the addition of a bioceramic sealer in an open apex model on the marginal apical adaptation, tubule infiltrations, and void distributions as well as the interface between the cement and the sealer materials. To this end, sixty mandibular premolars were used. MTA-Biorep (BR), Biodentine (BD), and Well-Root Putty (WR) were used to obturate the open apex model with or without the addition of a bioceramic sealer, namely TotalFill® BC sealer™ (TF). A digital optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to investigate the cement-dentin interface, marginal apical adaptation, and the material infiltration into the dentinal tubules. Micro-computed X-ray tomography and digital optical microscopy were used to investigate the cement-sealer interface. The results were analyzed by using the Kruskal-Wallis test. No significant difference was found between the groups for the marginal apical adaptation quality (p > 0.05). Good adaptation of the dentin-cement interface was found for all tested groups and the sealer was placed between the cement material and dentinal walls. All the groups demonstrated some infiltrations into the dentinal tubules at the coronal part except for the BR group. A good internal interface was found between the cement and the sealer with the presence of voids at the external interface. A larger number of voids were found in the case of the BD-TF group compared to each of the other two groups (p < 0.05). Within the limitations of the present in vitro study, all the groups demonstrated good marginal apical adaptation. The use of a sealer in an open apex does not guarantee good filling and, in addition, creates voids at the external interfaces with the dental walls when the premixed sealer is used with powder-liquid cement systems. The use of a premixed bioceramic cement could offer fewer complications than when a powder-liquid cement system is used
Rural entrepreneurship and inequality: exploring trends in emerging economies through the lens of Lebanon
No full textInternational audienceLimited research exists on the role of information access as a key success factor for rural entrepreneurs. The purpose of this study is to examine the importance of information access, among other inequality forms, in shaping entrepreneurial outcomes. The authors used a qualitative, inductive research methodology. They conducted interviews with rural entrepreneurs and gained insights into the role of information access and basic tangible resources in shaping their ventures. The authors identified two critical factors that impact rural entrepreneurs: inequalities in access to information and basic tangible resources. They found that inequalities in rural entrepreneurship are often interrelated, rather than isolated. The authors demonstrated that the relationship between entrepreneurship and inequality is not solely characterized by a positive or negative correlation but is a dynamic interplay where certain inequality forms may create barriers to opportunities for some individuals while creating opportunities for others. The authors uncovered key barriers in rural entrepreneurship and constructed a roadmap to effectively address these challenges, providing valuable insights to policymakers and support initiatives and enabling the target of high-impact resources. This research supports efforts to provide rural entrepreneurs with equal opportunities to grow and succeed. This research significantly contributes to the field by examining the complexities of entrepreneurship in emerging economies, with a particular focus on rural areas. The authors introduced a comprehensive conceptual model linking inequality and entrepreneurship, explored the challenges faced by rural entrepreneurs and offered strategic policy recommendations for development initiatives
Psychometric evaluation of the Arabic language version of the Birchwood Insight Scale in patients with schizophrenia
No full textInternational audienceBACKGROUND: Clinical insight (i.e., impaired insight into illness) is increasingly recognized by the scientific community as a significant contributor to an array of psychological and clinical outcomes in schizophrenia. Therefore, its assessment using a reliable, rapid, easy and economic tool is important for clinical practice. This study proposes to investigate the psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the Birchwood Insight Scale (BIS) in Arabic-speaking chronic patients with schizophrenia. Our objectives were to identify the most adequate factor structure of the BIS among the several measurement models previously proposed in the literature, verify the reliability and measurement invariance of the BIS across sex groups, and explore the concurrent validity of the BIS through examining its patterns of correlations with psychotic symptoms. METHOD: One hundred seventeen Arabic-speaking chronic, remitted patients with schizophrenia took part in this study. An Arabic translated version of the BIS and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) were administered to participants. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) showed that, after omitting two items with low loadings (items 1 and 2), the unidimensional factor model of the BIS showed good fit indices and a reliability of α = 0.68 and ω = 0.68. However, analyses failed to show good fit for the full-length one-, two-, and three-factor models of the BIS in its Arabic version. Measurement invariance of the Arabic 6-item one-factor BIS was established between males and females at the configural, metric and scalar levels; no statistically significant difference between males and females was found in terms of BIS scores. Finally, BIS scores correlated significantly with the PANSS scores in our sample, thus demonstrating adequate concurrent validity. CONCLUSION: This study offers valuable additional psychometric information about the BIS based on results of CFA and other analyses in schizophrenia from a non-Western cultural environment. We believe that making the BIS available in Arabic might benefit clinicians working with Arabic-speaking patients with schizophrenia, open new avenues of research and gain a better knowledge into the nature of clinical insight and its relevance to psychopathology
Impact des sollicitations mécaniques lors de la micronisation du riz rond deCamargue sur la déstructuration et l’énergie spécifique de broyage
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Peasant vs. Industrial durum wheat pasta: Impact of each processing step on protein solubility and digestibility
No full textInternational audienceHighlights: • “Old” cv. Bidi 17 contains more proteins than “modern” cv. Anvergur and more gliadins. • Proteins are more easily soluble in cooked pasta made from stone-milled semolina. • Cooked pasta processed in mild conditions exhibit more SDS-Soluble proteins. • Varieties and milling type had a great impact on in-vitro protein digestibility.Abstract: Some people with Non-Coeliac Gluten (or Wheat) Sensitivity (NCGS) declare that they can consume peasant pasta without the usual inconvenience they experience after eating industrial pasta. The main differences between peasant and industrial pasta lie in the varieties used (old vs. modern), and the production chain (grain milling, semolina hydration and mixing, extrusion or lamination, drying and packaging). Yet, the varieties, the material and the method used by the peasants and by the industrial sector to make pasta differ at each stage. The impact of each of these stages was analyzed on protein quantity and quality from semolina to cooked pasta. Grown in the same conditions, the old variety (cv. Bidi 17) used by farmers contained much more protein than the modern variety (cv. Anvergur) recommended by industry and its pasta was better-digested in-vitro. Focusing on cooked pasta, milling had a great impact on not easily soluble proteins (DTE-soluble proteins): pasta made from stone-milled grains (peasant method) had less DTE-soluble proteins than pasta made from roller-milled grains (industrial method) and a higher amount of in-vitro digested proteins. The mixing and extrusion step mainly affected the easily soluble proteins (SDS-soluble proteins). The amount of such proteins was greater for farmer cooked pasta (non-monitored extrusion) than for industrial ones (monitored extrusion). Concerning the drying step, the proportion of SDS-soluble proteins was higher for the pasta dried at low temperature (peasant method), compared to high temperature (industrial method). Thus, the observation that peasant cooked pasta would be more digestible than industrial pasta seems to be due mainly to variety (61%), to a lesser extent to grinding on a stone-mill (22%) and extrusion on non-monitored conditions (16%) and finally a little (1%) to drying at low temperature and therefore longer
P2X4 signalling contributes to hyperactivity but not pain sensitization comorbidity in a mouse model of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
No full textInternational audienceIntroduction: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity that often persist until adulthood. Frequent comorbid disorders accompany ADHD and two thirds of children diagnosed with ADHD also suffer from behavioural disorders and from alteration of sensory processing. We recently characterized the comorbidity between ADHD-like symptoms and pain sensitisation in a pharmacological mouse model of ADHD, and we demonstrated the implication of the anterior cingulate cortex and posterior insula. However, few studies have explored the causal mechanisms underlying the interactions between ADHD and pain. The implication of inflammatory mechanisms has been suggested but the signalling pathways involved have not been explored.Methods: We investigated the roles of purinergic signalling, at the crossroad of pain and neuroinflammatory pathways, by using a transgenic mouse line that carries a total deletion of the P2X4 receptor.Results: We demonstrated that P2X4 deletion prevents hyperactivity in the mouse model of ADHD. In contrast, the absence of P2X4 lowered thermal pain thresholds in sham conditions and did not affect pain sensitization in ADHD-like conditions. We further analysed microglia reactivity and the expression of inflammatory markers in wild type and P2X4KO mice. Our results revealed that P2X4 deletion limits microglia reactivity but at the same time exerts proinflammatory effects in the anterior cingulate cortex and posterior insula.Conclusion: This dual role of P2X4 could be responsible for the differential effects noted on ADHD-like symptoms and pain sensitization and calls for further studies to investigate the therapeutic benefit of targeting the P2X4 receptor in ADHD patients