Characterisation of riverine particulate organic matter by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Particulate matter samples were collected in the mountainous section and river mouth at the Tech River basin, south France, during flood (December 1996) and summer (September 1997) periods. Suspended material was analysed by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) and 23 identified pyrolysis products were divided into five main fractions: aminosugars, aromatic hydrocarbons, polysaccharides, phenols and nitrogenous compounds. Analysis of relative amounts of these fractions revealed neither significant spatial nor temporal changes in the particulate organic matter composition. Nevertheless, their specific composition showed that during flooding there is a certain homogeneity in the composition of the riverine particulate organic matter, with more degraded material of pedogenic (allochthonous) character, and during the summer the results suggest the presence of two components, allochthonous and autochthonous.

[A case of bullous dermatosis at the end of pregnancy transmitted to the newborn: herpes gestationis]. / Un cas de dermatose bulleuse de fin de grossesse "transmise" au nouveau-né: herpes gestationis.

The authors report a case of bullous dermatosis developing at 38 weeks of amenorrhoea in a para II. The newborn infant developed a skin rash 3 days after birth. Direct immunofluorescent study of skin biopsies showed the presence of a very small amount of IgG and a very large amount of complement fixed to the basal membrane. Tests for the presence of Herpes gestationis factor in maternal and child blood by immunofluorescence to anti-complement were negative. Tests for anti-epidermal antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence in the serum were also negative, for both anti-basal membrane antibodies as well as anti-intercellular substance antibodies.