Primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) and antiphospholipid syndrome associated to lupus (SAPS) have several overlapping characteristics. As systemic manifestations are also reported in patients with PAPS, and as a subgroup of PAPS patients could evaluate to a SAPS, the differentiation between the two types of APS could be performed based on the clinical experience of the medical teams and is related to a variety of clinical, biological, histological and genetic features. Several data are available in the literature with respect to the identification of distinctive features between these two entities. However, there are some limitation in the interpretation of results issued from studies performed prior to updated Sydney criteria. Based on recent data, a certain number of features more frequent in one type of APS as compared to the other could be distinguished. The major differentiation between these two entities is genetical. New genetic data allowing the identification of specific subgroups of APS are ongoing.

Freshwater reservoirs are a significant source of CO2 to the atmosphere. CO2 is known to be emitted at the reservoir surface by diffusion at the air–water interface and downstream of dams or powerhouses by degassing and along the river course. In this study, we quantified total CO2 emissions from the Nam Theun 2 Reservoir (Lao PDR) in the Mekong River watershed. The study started in May 2009, less than a year after flooding and just a few months after the maximum level was first reached and lasted until the end of 2013. We tested the hypothesis that soils from the drawdown area would be a significant contributor to the total CO2 emissions. Total inorganic carbon, dissolved and particulate organic carbon and CO2 concentrations were measured in 4 pristine rivers of the Nam Theun watershed, at 9 stations in the reservoir (vertical profiles) and at 16 stations downstream of the monomictic reservoir on a weekly to monthly basis. CO2 bubbling was estimated during five field campaigns between 2009 and 2011 and on a weekly monitoring, covering water depths ranging from 0.4 to 16 m and various types of flooded ecosystems in 2012 and 2013. Three field campaigns in 2010, 2011 and 2013 were dedicated to the soils description in 21 plots and the quantification of soil CO2 emissions from the drawdown area. On this basis, we calculated total CO2 emissions from the reservoir and carbon inputs from the tributaries. We confirm the importance of the flooded stock of organic matter as a source of carbon (C) fuelling emissions. We show that the drawdown area contributes, depending on the year, from 40 to 75 % of total annual gross emissions in this flat and shallow reservoir. Since the CO2 emissions from the drawdown zone are almost constant throughout the years, the large interannual variations result from the significant decrease in diffusive fluxes and downstream emissions between 2010 and 2013. This overlooked pathway in terms of gross emissions would require an in-depth evaluation for the soil organic matter and vegetation dynamics to evaluate the actual contribution of this area in terms of net modification of gas exchange in the footprint of the reservoir, and how it could evolve in the future.

Hematology analysers provide now quick, accurate, and repro- ducible cell blood counts. However, depending on detection methods, spurious counts may occur. If undetected, such spurious counts may lead to inappropriate medical care and to unneeded explorations. Focusing first on platelet counts, situations leading to spurious decrease include several preana- lytical considerations, the major one corresponding to EDTA-induced platelet aggregation and to platelet satellitism around polymorphs. In other instances, related to the presence of small particles mimicking platelets, including frag- mented red blood cells, lipids, cryoglobulins, fibrin strands, or cytoplasmic synthese

Object: Experimental circuits for biomaterial surface testing are frequently limited by the tested blood volume, composition of the circuit, flow conditions and the use of animal blood. This report describes an ex vivo set-up for simulated cardiopulmonary bypass with human blood perfusion. We investigated the clinical generalizability of the observed effects on hematological and metabolic parameters and the hemocompatibility of the system. Methods: The simulated cardiopulmonary bypass circuit consisted of a heparin-coated tubing system connected to an oxygenator and a venous reservoir. Normothermic flow of blood obtained from healthy donors was maintained at 2.4 L/min/m2 by a roller pump. Heparin was dosed to obtain a target activated clotting time (ACT) ⩾500 s. Blood was drawn at baseline and 0, 10, 60 and 120 minutes following the initiation of blood flow to determine hematological and metabolic parameters and the hemocompatibility of the extracorporeal system. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. Results: Two hours of blood perfusion resulted in a small, but clinically unimportant reduction in hematocrit, whereas hemoglobin levels and red blood cell, platelet and leukocyte counts remained stable. There was a significant increase in ACT throughout the experiment. While pO2 levels and the pH remained unaltered during the experiment, pCO2 values decreased from 51 ± 6 mmHg at T0 to 41 ± 3 mmHg at T120 (p<0.001). Simulated cardiopulmonary bypass induced a two-fold increase in C3a (p=0.001) while tissue factor was decreased from 44 ± 14 pg/mL at T0 to 38 ± 13 pg/mL at T120 (p=0.009). Levels of CD40L, prothrombin fragment 1+2, β-thromboglobulin and factor VIIa remained stable over time. Conclusion: The ex vivo set-up for simulated cardiopulmonary bypass mimicked the clinical cardiosurgical setting. Exposure of fresh donor blood to the extracorporeal circuit showed a good hemocompatibility, indicated by maintained hematological parameters and a mild immune response.

Hydro-reservoirs are recognized as potentially significant emitters of methane at the global scale. However, there are still large uncertainties in estimating such emissions at this scale due to the lack of comprehensive measurements of methane emissions in a wide range of climatic zones, for hydro-reservoirs with variable characteristics, and including all emissions pathways. This study presents an assessment of methane emissions for the 2013 year, that is four years after commissioning, for the Nam Theun 2 hydro-system, a 489 km² subtropical reservoir with a large drawdown area. All of the major pathways have been computed here, i.e., ebullition, diffusion, degassing, emissions from the drawdown area, and diffusion from downstream, and included in an emission budget. Emissions from the upstream area strongly dominate when compared to the downstream ones, a feature quite specific to the Nam Theun 2 reservoir. The drawdown area and the emissions by diffusion downstream represented a small contribution to the total emissions. About half of the methane is emitted during the four months of the warm dry season (from mid-February to Mid-June). Total methane emissions in NT2 have decreased from 35.6±2.6 Gg(CH4) year-1 in 2010 to 24.5±1.5 Gg(CH4) year-1 in 2013 though this difference was not found to be quite statistically significant.

Inland waters in general and freshwater reservoirs specifically are recognized as a source of CH4 into the atmosphere. Although the diffusion at the air–water interface is the most studied pathway, its spatial and temporal variations are poorly documented. We measured temperature and O2 and CH4 concentrations every 2 weeks for 3.5 years at nine stations in a subtropical monomictic reservoir which was flooded in 2008 (Nam Theun 2 Reservoir, Lao PDR). Based on these results, we quantified CH4 storage in the water column and diffusive fluxes from June 2009 to December 2012. We compared diffusive emissions with ebullition from Deshmukh et al. (2014) and aerobic methane oxidation and downstream emissions from Deshmukh et al. (2016). In this monomictic reservoir, the seasonal variations of CH4 concentration and storage were highly dependent on the thermal stratification. Hypolimnic CH4 concentration and CH4 storage reached their maximum in the warm dry season (WD) when the reservoir was stratified. Concentration and storage decreased during the warm wet (WW) season and reached its minimum after the reservoir overturned in the cool dry (CD) season. The sharp decreases in CH4 storage were concomitant with extreme diffusive fluxes (up to 200 mmol m−2 d−1). These sporadic emissions occurred mostly in the inflow region in the WW season and during overturn in the CD season in the area of the reservoir that has the highest CH4 storage. Although they corresponded to less than 10 % of the observations, these extreme CH4 emissions (> 5 mmol m−2 d−1) contributed up to 50 % of total annual emissions by diffusion. During the transition between the WD and WW seasons, a new emission hotspot was identified upstream of the water intake where diffusive fluxes peaked at 600 mmol m−2 d−1 in 2010 down to 200 mmol m−2 d−1 in 2012. The hotspot was attributed to the mixing induced by the water intakes (artificial mixing). Emissions from this area contributed 15–25 % to total annual emissions, although they occur in a surface area representative of less than 1 % of the total reservoir surface. We highly recommend measurements of diffusive fluxes around water intakes in order to evaluate whether such results can be generalized.

Methane (CH4) emissions from hydroelectric reservoirs could represent a significant fraction of global CH4 emissions from inland waters and wetlands. Although CH4 emissions downstream of hydroelectric reservoirs are known to be potentially significant, these emissions are poorly documented in recent studies. We report the first quantification of emissions downstream of a subtropical monomictic reservoir. The Nam Theun 2 Reservoir (NT2R), located in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, was flooded in 2008 and commissioned in April 2010. This reservoir is a trans-basin diversion reservoir which releases water into two downstream streams: the Nam Theun River below the dam and an artificial channel downstream of the powerhouse and a regulating pond that diverts the water from the Nam Theun watershed to the Xe Bangfai watershed. We quantified downstream emissions during the first 4 years after impoundment (2009–2012) on the basis of a high temporal (weekly to fortnightly) and spatial (23 stations) resolution of the monitoring of CH4 concentration. Before the commissioning of NT2R, downstream emissions were dominated by a very significant degassing at the dam site resulting from the occasional spillway discharge for controlling the water level in the reservoir. After the commissioning, downstream emissions were dominated by degassing which occurred mostly below the powerhouse. Overall, downstream emissions decreased from 10 GgCH4 yr−1 after the commissioning to 2 GgCH4 yr−1 4 years after impoundment. The downstream emissions contributed only 10 to 30 % of total CH4 emissions from the reservoir during the study. Most of the downstream emissions (80 %) occurred within 2–4 months during the transition between the warm dry season (WD) and the warm wet season (WW) when the CH4 concentration in hypolimnic water is maximum (up to 1000 µmol L−1) and downstream emissions are negligible for the rest of the year. Emissions downstream of NT2R are also lower than expected because of the design of the water intake. A significant fraction of the CH4 that should have been transferred and emitted downstream of the powerhouse is emitted at the reservoir surface because of the artificial turbulence generated around the water intake. The positive counterpart of this artificial mixing is that it allows O2 diffusion down to the bottom of the water column, enhancing aerobic methane oxidation, and it subsequently lowered downstream emissions by at least 40 %.

Introduction Conclusions References

C. Deshmukh (6) and S. Descloux (1)

F. Guérin, C. Deshmukh, D. Labat, S. Pighini, A. Vongkhamsao, P. Guédant, W. Rode, A. Godon, V. Chanudet, S. Descloux, and D. Serça Université de Toulouse; UPS GET, 14 Avenue E. Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France IRD; UR 234, GET; 14 Avenue E. Belin, 31400, Toulouse, France Departamento de Geoquimica, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niteroi-RJ, Brasil Laboratoire d’Aérologie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS UMR 5560; 14 Av. Edouard Belin, 31400, Toulouse, France Department of Regional Water Studies, TERI University, New Delhi, India Nam Theun 2 Power Company Limited (NTPC), Environment & Social Division, Water Quality and Biodiversity Department, Gnommalath Office, P.O. Box 5862, Vientiane, Lao PDR Electriciteì de France, Hydro Engineering Centre, Sustainable Development Dpt, Savoie Technolac, 73373 Le Bourget du Lac, France

Data on total iron concentrations in waters and freshwater fish tissues in man-made reservoirs are scarce, especially in Southeast Asia. Changes in total iron concentrations in water and in fish tissues were studied after the impoundment of the Nam Theun 2 Reservoir (central Lao PDR). Water quality parameters were monitored at 11 stations (reservoir, upstream area and downstream areas) from 2008 to 2010. In 2009 and 2010, total iron concentrations were measured in three different fish tissues (viscera, gills and flesh) from 14 species belonging to the omnivorous and carnivorous feeding groups. The results indicated that iron concentrations in the water were influenced by the reservoir impoundment during the first year after the creation of the reservoir. Intra-annual variations of the total iron concentration in these waters appeared to be driven by the soil leaching processes mainly during the wet season. In fish, total iron accumulated preferentially in viscera, followed by gills and flesh. Iron concentration was highly species dependant and related to the ecology of the species whereas feeding habits (omnivorous or carnivorous) did not influence total iron concentration in fish tissues. Finally, reservoir impoundment did not affect iron concentrations in fish from the reservoir and from both downstream areas.

Biofilms are the most common bacterial life mode on Earth. These tri-dimension bacterial structures occur at a substratum-liquid interface. Due to their intrinsic properties (niche for pathogens, resistance to biocide treatments, etc.), they cause major problems in various industries. In water systems, the physical and chemical characteristics of biofilms (viscoelastic behavior, roughness) may lead to the lowering of flow velocity. A rough biofilm has developed in the Penstock of the Nam Theun 2 hydropower plant (Khammouane Province, Lao PDR). This biofilm is thought to lead to additional head losses and to slightly affect the power production. The mineral, chemical and microbiological compositions of the biofilm were investigated in order to propose solutions to reduce its effect. Samples were taken during two water drainages in 2011 and 2012. In order to complete the knowledge from the water quality monitoring, major elements, trace elements and rare earth element (REE) contents in samples were measured using ICP-AES and ICP-MS. Crystalline phases were identified and quantified by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The microbial composition of the biofilm was first assessed by culture (2011) and then monitored according to the location and the time after water drainage by molecular biology methods (2012). Results show that the chemical composition of the biofilm is dominated by ferric iron Fe3+ and its mineralogy is mostly constituted of lepidocrocite and magnesioferrite. The bacterial population was dominated by beta-Proteobacteria but population profiles varied strongly according to the layer of the biofilm, the nature of the substratum and the time during which the biofilm was subjected to the conditions of the water drainage. These observations are concordant with the modification of the biofilm properties and the reduction in head losses when returning to functioning regimes in the Penstock.

Objectives: Bioactive Carmeda™ heparin-coated extracorporeal circuits (ECC) reduce the contact phase and coagulation activation during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Thus, heparin-coating allows safe reduction of anticoagulation during routine CPB. A new biopassive coating, the Balance™ Biosurface, containing negatively charged sulphonated polymers, recently became available. This study aimed to compare clotting activation and thrombo-resistance of the Balance™ (B) with the Carmeda™ (C) circuit under full (FDH) and low (LDH) doses of systemic heparin. Methods: Forty experiments were performed using an ex vivo study set-up consisting of a simplified ECC and circulation of fresh human donated blood. LDH or FDH were obtained using 0.5 IU/ml or 1 IU/ml heparin to reach target activated clotting time (ACT) at 250 s or 500 s respectively. Four groups were designed, FDH-C, FDH-B, LDH-C and LDH-B (all groups n = 10). Blood sampling took place before and during two hours of CPB. Coagulation activation was assessed (FXIIa, F1.2) as well as scanning electron microscope imaging of oxygenators with determination of adhesion scores. Results: Regardless of LDH or FDH regimen, the mean ACT was lower using the biopassive compared to the bioactive surface (P < 0.001), whilst total dose of heparin to maintain ACT over the target level was higher (P < 0.001). However, FXIIa and F1.2 were similar between groups throughout the experiments, as well as pressure gradients among oxygenators. Adhesion scores after ultrastructural assessment of oxygenators were similar between groups. Conclusions: Without surgically related haemostatic disturbances and based on target ACT levels under low or full dose heparin, the clotting process was similar between the heparin-coated and the new sulphonated polymer-coated ECC, which showed similar thrombo-resistance.

SummaryIntroductionMost studies dealing with automated hematology analyzers (HAs) and malaria diagnosis are conducted in endemic countries.MethodsWe retrospectively studied cell blood counts (CBCs) performed with Sysmex XE‐2100 and XE‐5000 HAs in our center (Angers, France) regarding 67 patients returning from endemic areas and infected with various Plasmodium species.ResultsIn 83% of infected samples with Plasmodium vivax (Pv), ovale (Po), or malariae (Pm), extra clouds of dots were present in neutrophil and/or eosinophil area(s) on routine differential (DIFF) scattergrams. In contrast, samples infected with Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) failed to show such DIFF scattergrams, or any other suggesting malaria infection (0/ 49 pts). Abnormal areas from DIFF scattergrams were related to the presence of mature schizonts and gametocytes, undestroyed by lysis agent, the latter not observed in Pf‐infected patients from our series. The internal parameter WBC[DIFF] − WBC[BASO] raised in parallel to parasitemia in Pv, Po, and Pm samples but could not be used as a surrogate for parasitemia. In Pf infection, reticulocyte/ immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF) ratio showed a significant correlation with parasitemia (P < 0.05). A diagnostic model developed for Pf in endemic countries showed sensitivity of 77%.ConclusionUsing SYSMEX analyzers, Pv, Po, and Pm infections are easy to ascertain as DIFF scattergrams are almost specific (specificity = 99.9%). Pf infection diagnosis by CBC may be a more promising tool.

In this paper, the influence of deposition current density on microstructure and purity of nickel coatings was studied. Complementary characterization methods (SEM, TEM, XRD, EBSD, GDOES and SIMS) were used to investigate different scales of the microstructure and to understand the metallurgical states of the coatings. As deposition current density decreases, grain refinement and texture modifications are observed which are linked with the grain boundary character (disorientation angle and Coincidence Site Lattice). Moreover, in sulphamate bath without additive, the contamination by light elements and metallic impurities strongly depends on deposition parameters and must be taken into account to discuss the microstructure changes.

The effect of the distribution of grain orientations on the mechanical behaviour of nanostructured nickel samples obtained by electrodeposition is explored The dependence of grain size oil flow stress is accurately described by the Hall-Petch relationship over a large range of grain sizes (d > 20 nm) The Hall-Petch slope k depends on orientation texture in relation to the distribution of gram boundaries The occurence of two competing physical mechanisms, grain boundary shearing and dislocation emission at grain boundaries. is suggested to explain the experimental data (C) 2009 Acta Materialia Inc Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved