Software trends;Hardware characteristics; Computer research studies, 5

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Recommendation of RILEM TC 271-ASC: New accelerated test procedure for the assessment of resistance of natural stone and fired-clay brick units against salt crystallization

This recommendation is devoted to testing the resistance of natural stone and fired-clay brick units against salt crystallization. The procedure was developed by the RILEM TC 271-ASC to evaluate the durability of porous building materials against salt crystallization through a laboratory method that allows for accelerated testing without compromising the reliability of the results. The new procedure is designed to replicate salt damage caused by crystallization near the surface of materials as a result of capillary transport and evaporation. A new approach is proposed that considers the presence of two stages in the salt crystallization test. In the first, the accumulation stage, salts gradually accumulate on or near the surface of the material due to evaporation. In the second, the propagation stage, damage initiates and develops due to changes in moisture content and relative humidity that trigger salt dissolution and crystallization cycles. To achieve this, two types of salt were tested, namely sodium chloride and sodium sulphate, with each salt tested separately. A methodology for assessing the salt-induced damage is proposed, which includes visual and photographical observations and measurement of material loss. The procedure has been preliminarily validated in round robin tests

TWEAK Appears as a Modulator of Endometrial IL-18 Related Cytotoxic Activity of Uterine Natural Killers

BACKGROUND: TWEAK (Tumor necrosis factor like WEAK inducer of apoptosis) is highly expressed by different immune cells and triggers multiple cellular responses, including control of angiogenesis. Our objective was to investigate its role in the human endometrium during the implantation window, using an ex-vivo endometrial microhistoculture model. Indeed, previous results suggested that basic TWEAK expression influences the IL-18 related uNK recruitment and local cytotoxicity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Endometrial biopsies were performed 7 to 9 days after the ovulation surge of women in monitored natural cycles. Biopsies were cut in micro-pieces and cultured on collagen sponge with appropriate medium. Morphology, functionality and cell death were analysed at different time of the culture. We used this ex vivo model to study mRNA expressions of NKp46 (a uNK cytotoxic receptor) and TGF-beta1 (protein which regulates uNK cytokine production) after adjunction of excess of recombinant IL-18 and either recombinant TWEAK or its antibody. NKp46 protein expression was also detailed by immunohistochemistry in selected patients with high basic mRNA level of IL-18 and either low or high mRNA level of TWEAK. The NKp46 immunostaining was stronger in patients with an IL-18 over-expression and a low TWEAK expression, when compared with patients with both IL-18 and TWEAK high expressions. We did not observe any difference for TWEAK expression when recombinant protein IL-18 or its antibody was added, or conversely, for IL-18 expression when TWEAK or its antibody was added in the culture medium. In a pro-inflammatory environment (obtained by an excess of IL-18), inhibition of TWEAK was able to increase significantly NKp46 and TGF-beta1 mRNA expressions. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: TWEAK doesn't act on IL-18 expression but seems to control IL-18 related cytotoxicity on uNK cells when IL-18 is over-expressed. Thus, TWEAK appears as a crucial physiological modulator to prevent endometrial uNK cytotoxicity in human

Long-term, hormone-responsive organoid cultures of human endometrium in a chemically defined medium

In humans, the endometrium, the uterine mucosal lining, undergoes dynamic changes throughout the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. Despite the importance of the endometrium as the site of implantation and nutritional support for the conceptus, there are no long-term culture systems that recapitulate endometrial function in vitro. We adapted conditions used to establish human adult stem-cell-derived organoid cultures to generate three-dimensional cultures of normal and decidualized human endometrium. These organoids expand long-term, are genetically stable and differentiate following treatment with reproductive hormones. Single cells from both endometrium and decidua can generate a fully functional organoid. Transcript analysis confirmed great similarity between organoids and the primary tissue of origin. On exposure to pregnancy signals, endometrial organoids develop characteristics of early pregnancy. We also derived organoids from malignant endometrium, and so provide a foundation to study common diseases, such as endometriosis and endometrial cancer, as well as the physiology of early gestation.</p

Recommendation of RILEM TC 271-ASC: New accelerated test procedure for the assessment of resistance of natural stone and fired-clay brick units against salt crystallization

This recommendation is devoted to testing the resistance of natural stone and fired-clay brick units against salt crystallization. The procedure was developed by the RILEM TC 271-ASC to evaluate the durability of porous building materials against salt crystallization through a laboratory method that allows for accelerated testing without compromising the reliability of the results. The new procedure is designed to replicate salt damage caused by crystallization near the surface of materials as a result of capillary transport and evaporation. A new approach is proposed that considers the presence of two stages in the salt crystallization test. In the first, the accumulation stage, salts gradually accumulate on or near the surface of the material due to evaporation. In the second, the propagation stage, damage initiates and develops due to changes in moisture content and relative humidity that trigger salt dissolution and crystallization cycles. To achieve this, two types of salt were tested, namely sodium chloride and sodium sulphate, with each salt tested separately. A methodology for assessing the salt-induced damage is proposed, which includes visual and photographical observations and measurement of material loss. The procedure has been preliminarily validated in round robin tests