Scoliosis and spinal deformities offer little hope for rehabilitation in the adult population. Pain and viscero-somatic dysfunction are frequently encountered, and conventional medical care uses rigid bracing, medication and surgery in the most serious cases. The treatment of adult scoliosis with The SpineCor® Dynamic Corrective Brace deserves more attention. It offers a great variety of combinations to improve spinal alignment and posture, and depending on the curve type, its severity and rigidity. The main therapeutic goal is to reduce pain and the strain on the neuromusculoskeletal system. The brace acts as a dynamic support against compressive loading on the inter-vertebral joints, while creating a corrective movement in the spine which produces neuromuscular integration.

Hyperkyphosis has long been reported to be associated with many health disorders, both psychological and patho-mechanical. Very few options for the management of this condition are available in medicine, while conservative treatment like chiropractic and physiotherapy can only offer limited structural rehabilitation. Although originally designed for the treatment of AIS, The SpineCor® Dynamic Brace offers a great variety of options for the treatment of Hyperkyphosis. According to our morphologic classification of hyperkyphotic thoracic curves: Upper Thoracic (UT) (often associated with an anterior thoracic translation relative to pelvis), mid-thoracic (MT) (often associated with hyperlordosis and no significant ribcage translation), and lower thoracic (LT) (often associated with posterior translation of ribcage). Many combinations of brace fittings have been designed for the creation of vectors that create a specific corrective movement for the patient's spine and posture.

Regardless of etiology, a morphologic classification of thoracic hyperkyphosis is needed for health care professionals to treat their patients adequately. Traditionally, thoracic hyperkyphosis has been defined as a kyphosis of more than 50° using the Cobb angle at differing vertebral levels. This radiologic curvature cut-point offers limited understanding of the overall deformity that occurs in the spines of hyperkyphotic patients. For example, hyperkyphosis can be created by different postures in the sagittal plane and can be localized to different regions in the thoracic spine for a given Cobb angle. Recently, ideal geometric, average geometric, and individual optimized geometric sagittal plane curve models for thoracic kyphosis have been presented in the literature. Using these models as a normative starting position of thoracic kyphosis, it may be possible to describe and differentiate types of hyperkyphosis.

29Si Nuclear Magnetic Resonance was used to analyse silicate polymerization in relation with the kinetic control of the curing process. Controlled Rate Thermal Analysis (CRTA) was applied to the monitoring of the thermal curing of a Reactive Powder Concrete. Heating could be adjusted so as to keep the rate of gas evolution constant and in dynamic equlibrium at a pre-established pressure or to be blunt and generating local hydrothermal vapor pressures inside of the sample. Different solid-state transformation states were detected and analysed by 29Si Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometry, by X Ray Diffraction and by Fourier Transformed Infrared spectrometry. These results could be used to control hydrates crystallinity.

The utility of rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences for separating species of Ulva along the North Brittany coast of France was investigated. Particular attention was paid to the Ulva species responsible for 'green tides'. Floating thalli are difficult to identify due to fragmentation and it was not clear at the outset whether one or more species of Ulva might be contributing to the green tide phenomenon. Results show that ITS sequences are good markers for Ulva species and that the Lannion Bay green tide taxon is a previously unrecognized species that can also be identified on morphological grounds. We found that ITS type did not necessarily correspond to the initial identification of a specimen based on morphological features, due to the lack of good diagnostic characters. This survey highlights the need for a more intensive survey of Ulva populations along European coasts. Once ITS groups can be recognized, quick screening assays can be developed to aid morphological identification.

Although the kinetics of the dehydroxylation of kaolinite have been widely studied, there is no definitive explanation of its mechanism due to its dependence on a variety of parameters. In this study, the dehydroxylation of kaolinite has been studied using controlled-transformation rate thermal analysis (CRTA), allowing precise control of the reaction rate, and thus of both the temperature and pressure above the sample. Modelling of the experimental results obtained by CRTA as well as those from TEM and MAS-NMR show that two elementary processes (diffusion and first-order) can occur in competition. At the start of the decomposition the diffusion mechanism is predominant, but as the reaction progresses, the first-order mechanism prevails. It would seem that the importance of each process depends, in particular, on the presence of defects as well as on the local vapour pressure.

Ulva armoricana sp. nov. is described from the coast of Brittany, France, using the taxonomic criteria established by Bliding, Koeman and van den Hoek for the European species of Ulva. Morphological evidence strongly suggests that Ulva armoricana is conspecific with the free-living Ulva populations responsible for the 'green tide' phenomenon that occurs at some eutrophicated sites in North Brittany. Blades of U. armoricana are variable in shape, fragile, easily tom, and 30-55 mu m thick in middle and apical regions; they differ from those of U. olivascens by their pale green colour and from those of Ulva lactuca, U, rotundata, U. gigantea, U. pseudocurvata and U. curvata by their crumpled texture that creates an irregular light-reflecting surface, and by the presence of tooth-like protuberances at the margin of the blade. U. armoricana differs from U, scandinavica in having longitudinal ribs containing closely packed bundles of rhizoids, except in the youngest thalli. U. armoricana can be discriminated from U. rigida by the polygonal (never rounded) cells in the mid-thallus region, and quadrangular cells arranged in small longitudinal rows in rapidly growing parts-Pyrenoid number, 1-2 (3-4), overlaps with that of other species, and shape of non-rhizoidal cells of the basal region in transverse sections, either oval or with tapered ends, appears not to be a good taxonomic character. Herbarium data indicate that the species has been collected in northern France since at least 1869, but was previously unrecognized.

Controlled rate thermal analysis (CRTA) was applied to the thermal curing of a reactive powder concrete. Heating was adjusted to keep the rate of gas evolution constant and in dynamic equilibrium at a pressure of 3 Pa. In this way, all internal gradients were kept constant and homogeneous samples were produced. Six different solid-state transformations were detected below 900°C, four of them occurring below 250°C. Under these conditions, no xonotlite or other crystalline silicate hydrates were detected even up to temperatures of 250°C, contrary to what is observed when heating is carried out in regular, nonkinetically controlled conditions, which generate local hydrothermal water vapor pressures inside of the samples. Our results show that controlled rate thermal treatment in dynamic equilibrium with fixed water vapor pressures is a promising method for the accurate control of hydrate crystallization.

The dehydroxylation of kaolinite leading to metakaolinite was studied by transmission electron microscopy. TEM techniques allow the study of morphology, structure (by selected-area electron diffraction) and lattice imaging (by high resolution) in a non-destructive way. The samples were prepared using a controlled-rate thermal analysis method which provides a well-defined material (near thermodynamic equilibrium). The dehydroxylation begins near the defects of the structure (stacking defects, dislocation and edges) and progresses from them slowly, producing metakaolinite without any intermediate state. The formed metakaolinite is still organized: the two-dimensional hexagonal structure of the ab plane remains, but with a shorter extension (≈50 nm). A lamellar structure of a few layers with an interlayer period of about 1.2 nm appears in place of the kaolinite layers (0.71 nm). This structure is explained by the tetrahedral SiO4 sheet which remains but is highly deformed by a distortion wave due to the new aluminium and oxygen (remaining from the OH sheet) distribution after the loss of water.

The processing of kaolinite under controlled rate thermal analysis conditions (CRTA) provides homogeneously transformed samples at defined dehydroxylation rates. The kaolinite‐to‐metakaolinite transformation has been monitored by solid‐state NMR and X‐ray diffraction. The metakaolinite product is an amorphous material with no resolved XRD pattern and is based on a disordered polymerized silicon/aluminum network in which aluminum preferably occupies four‐ and five‐fold structural positions in the ratio 60% AlVI, 30% AlV, and 10% AlVI. This complex dehydroxylation process has been viewed at different scales, with the aluminum NMR tracing a site‐by‐site destructon of the octahedral sheet and the silicon NMR and XRD following a more rapid destruction of the longrange order.

Low tide SPOT images were selected from two French coast areas characterized by important Fucaceae populations (Pleubian-Bréhat site in Northern Brittany and Ré Island on the Atlantic coast).

Two nopaline-utilizing bacteria isolated from the same crown-gall tumor, and identified previously as Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Pseudomonas aureofaciens, were grown in pure or dual culture in various types of media. These included minimal medium with nopaline as the sole carbon and nitrogen source, and intercellular fluid extracted from sunflower or apple. The size of inoculum was similar for the two bacteria, and the ratio of the maximal cell population for P. aureofaciens over that for A. tumefaciens was calculated. This ratio was highest for dual culture in minimal medium, and under these conditions P. aureofaciens utilized most of the nopaline supply. This advantage of Pseudomonas in terms of maximal cell population was reduced for dual cultures in extracts prepared either from uninoculated stems or from tumors that had been induced by the A. tumefaciens isolate. For the two plants studied, the difference between maximal populations of P. aureofaciens and A. tumefaciens was smaller in tumor than in stem extract. The time of disappearance of opines from the tumor extracts was considered in relation with the growth of the two bacteria. Similar analysis was made on cultures involving A. tumefaciens and a mutant pseudomonad deficient in nopaline utilization. These experiments indicated that the differential response of dual cultures of A. tumefaciens and P. aureofaciens to stem or tumor extracts was not due to the presence of opine of the nopaline family in the extracts from crown-gall tumors.

Culture media selective for Agrobacterium were inoculated with dilutions of soil and crown gall tumor suspensions. Colonies on the selective media were replica plated on a medium with octopine or nopaline. More than 500 isolates were recovered, about 10% of which were confirmed as octopine-utilizing, fluorescent pseudomonads. These strains, together with four other strains of Pseudomonas that had been isolated in a previous study, were characterized for species identity, for utilization of various carbon sources, and for capacity to grow with various opines and amino acids as the sole carbon and nitrogen source. The capacities for octopine and nopaline utilization were generally dissociated, which is similar to the situation found in Agrobacterium. However, most of the octopine-utilizing strains of Pseudomonas showed markedly different growth kinetics in octopine and octopinic acid, two compounds that, in the Agrobacterium system, have been classified into the same opine family. Generally, poor octopinic acid utilization was not correlated with poor ornithine utilization.

Adventitious root formation, tumor surface morphology, and secondary shoot formation were three morphological markers associated with tumorigenesis induced by Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Smith and Townsend) Conn on Kalanchoe tubiflorae Hamet. These markers were used to characterize tumorigenesis induced at an incubation temperature of 20 or 27 °C, by A. tumefaciens strains assigned to biotype 1, 2, or 3. Adventitious roots were observed with all but one of the strains tested. Tumor surface morphology and formation of secondary shoots depended upon particular strain–temperature combinations. For biotype 1 and 2 strains, an incubation temperature of 27 °C modified tumor surface morphology with nopaline-utilizing strains and decreased the rate of formation of secondary shoots with octopine-utilizing strains. For biotype 3 strains, tumorigenesis itself was inhibited at 27 °C. A similar thermosensitivity of tumor induction by biotype 3 strains was also observed on tomato, whereas several of the strains were not thermosensitive on sunflower.

The effects of acetylsalicylate and salicylate were investigated on three phenomena involved in crown-gall disease. First, an inhibition of the growth of Agrobacterium tumefaciens was observed with low concentrations of salicylates. This inhibition was pH dependent and was partially reversed by glutamate. Second, an inhibition of the growth of tobacco tumor tissue was observed only at high concentrations of salicylates. Third, tumor formation on excised tobacco leaves was inhibited by low concentrations of salicylates. The inhibition of tumor formation occurred at salicylate concentrations that had no significant effect on the net rate of photosynthesis by the leaves. The inhibition of tumor formation was also observed with a mutant strain of A. tumefaciens resistant to salicylate. The potential interest of salicylates as control agents for crown-gall disease is discussed.

Heat-sensitive prespores of Bacillus subtilis have been induced to germinate and outgrow while they are still enclosed within the mother cell. This intrasporangial germination has been obtained by transferring sporulating cells to rich medium after treatment with phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride or toluene, or after subjecting them to cold-shock. The morphology of intrasporangial germination and outgrowth is described, and some possible explanations of the phenomenon are considered.