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This paper studies the influence of the leaching conditions on the release of heavy metals, namely lead, zinc iron and copper, from a cementitious material obtained by the solidification of petroleum sludge wastes. Four types of CEM-I-42.5 N based-mortars incorporating.) Petroleum wastes are tested. First, in order to characterize the waste itself, Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (SEM-EDX) tests were performed. Secondly, to evaluate the influence of leaching conditions on the release of heavy metals contained in the Stabilized / solidified materials tested, the acid neutralization capacity (ANC), the pore water (PW) and Monolith leaching tests (MLT) were carried out. Leaching tests (ANC, PW and MLT) have shown a low metal leachability. In fact, the lowest released amount was observed for the monolith leaching test (MLT). It was found also that the initial and final setting times increase and the mechanical strength decreases (at 7 days and 28 days age) as the masse percent replacement of cement by petroleum wastes increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular diseases, in particular acute coronary syndrome, are the leading cause of death and the rate of hospitalizations. Estimating cardiovascular risk is an important step to initiate primary prevention of this disease. We studied the influence of I883 M variant of the ATP Binding Cassette A1 (ABCA1) gene, which plays a key role in the reverse transport of cholesterol on clinical and lipid parameters in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) with or without type 2 disease (T2D). Three hundred seventy eight subjects (378) were recruited (95 control, 62 CAD, 58 T2D and 163 CAD + T2D). All were genotyped by PCR-RFLP with EcorV enzyme. Clinical and biochemical parameters were performed using conventional methods. Three genotypes of ABCA-1 were detected: GG mutated homozygote, AG mutated heterozygote and AA, the wild genotype. Results show that the GG genotype was associated to CAD (with or without T2D). AG genotype was associated to hypertriglyceridemia only in T2D group. However, GG genotype was associated to an elevated plasma LDL-C only in CAD group (without T2D) as well as in whole population (n = 378). Our data show that CAD patients with GG genotype are sensitive to develop acute coronary syndrome, probably in association to elevated plasma LDL-C, but independently of type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the influence of mineral additions on the microstructure and the chemical composition of the pore solution of cementitious materials is investigated. For this purpose, hardened cement pastes based on Portland cement CEM I are used. In order to study the influence of the cementitious materials composition on their microstructure and pore solution, a part of the cement is substituted by different mineral additions (limestone filler, fly ash, blast furnace slag and silica fumes). Experimental tests covered measurement of chloride diffusion coefficient by migration test and water and mercury porosimetry. Furthermore, pore solutions are extracted by pressing from cement pastes and analyzed by ionic chromatography. Results show that the substitution of cement by mineral addition modifies the total porosity and the pore sizes distribution of the blended cement pastes tested. Chemical analyses showed that all the tested pore solutions are mainly composed by sodium and potassium. A significant concentration of divalent ions, such as sulfates and calcium, is also noticed. The substitution of cement by mineral addition also significantly modifies the pore solution of cement pastes. In fact, a substitution of cement by 10% of silica fume decreases the alkalis concentrations and increases the sulfates and calcium ones. Thus, the divalent species (Ca 2+ and SO 4 2- ) should be taken into account for the chloride diffusion modelling unlike the current models of the literature. Results of this chemical investigation could be used as initial and boundary conditions in the modeling of aggressive species transport through porous construction materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on the relationship between serum lipid profiles and bone are controversial. We investigated the effect of different lipid profiles on bone parameters in postmenopausal women. A total of 81 postmenopausal women aged 50 years or older were recruited, not including women with a treatment likely to interact with bone metabolism as well as women diagnosed with osteoporosis. According to their lipid profiles, the population was subdivided into women with total dyslipidemia (TD, n = 16), women with only low level of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (L HDL-C, n = 22) and women with normal lipid profiles (N, n = 33). Biochemical analysis was obtained after 12 hours fasting and anthropometric parameters were measured. Bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC), lean and fat mass in different sites were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scanning. BMD and T-score of the right femur, left femur, total hip and the whole body (1.18 ± 0.09 vs. 1.12 ± 0.10 g/cm2; 0.98 ± 1.24 vs. 0.18 ± 1.28, P < 0.05) was significantly higher in women with L HDL-C compared to women with normal lipid profiles after adjustment for all possible covariates. In addition, we observed a higher legs BMC in L HDL-C women group compared to women with normal lipid profiles (892.73 vs. 836.62 g, P < 0.05). We hypothesized that low level of HDL-C is associated with elevated BMD and BMC in postmenopausal women and high level of HDL-C may be a risk factor for osteoporosis. However, Further studies are required on larger populations to confirm this hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 81 postmenopausal women aged 50 years or older were recruited. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were classified into 3 groups: women on metformin monotherapy (M, n = 20), women on metformin and insulin therapy (M + I, n = 28) and women on insulin monotherapy (I, n = 25). A group of women without treatments of diabetes was included (WT, n = 8). Biochemical analysis was obtained and BMD, BMC, lean and fat mass in different sites were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scanning. The results show a significantly higher femoral neck BMD value in women on metformin combined to insulin therapy compared to women on insulin monotherapy after adjustment for all possible covariates. In addition, we observed a higher BMC at the trunk level in women taking metformin drugs compared to those taking insulin combined with metformin treatment, and between women on insulin and metformin drugs compared to those on insulin injection after adjustment. However, there is no significant difference in bone markers concentrations between groups. We hypothesized that only insulin monotherapy is associated to a reduced bone mineral density and content in type 2 diabetic postmenopausal women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]