The biodeterioration of cementitious materials in sewer networks has become a major economic, ecological, and public health issue. Establishing a suitable standardized test is essential if sustainable construction materials are to be developed and qualified for sewerage environments. Since purely chemical tests are proven to not be representative o...
A major forthcoming sanitary issue concerns the apparition and spreading of drug-resistant microorganisms, potentially threatening millions of humans. In low-income countries, polluted urban runoff and open sewage channels are major sources of microbes. These microbes join natural microbial communities in aquatic ecosystems already impacted by vari...
The majority of studies on biofilms have focused on autotrophic and bacterial taxa, without considering the potential effects on biofilm grazers. In this work, we investigated the effects of realistic environmental concentrations of zirconium (Zr) on periphyton algal growth and micromeiofauna biodiversity. Glass slides were submerged in a pond for ...
Published in Frontiers in Microbiology
The human Intestinal mucus is formed by glycoproteins, the O- and N-linked glycans which constitute a crucial source of carbon for commensal gut bacteria, especially when deprived of dietary glycans of plant origin. In recent years, a dozen carbohydrate-active enzymes from cultivated mucin degraders have been characterized. But yet, considering the...
Hemp concrete is a building insulation material based on vegetal aggregates and a mineral binder. Due to the lignocellulosic constitution of this material and to the amount of fungi naturally present in hemp, concerns exist about risks of fungal growth, which induce deterioration of the material but also indoor air pollution. In this paper, we focu...
Many infectious diseases have emerged or reemerged in Africa in the 21st century. Some of them are associated with newly discovered microorganisms such as Rickettsia felis and Tropheryma whipplei; others are known, historical diseases such as plague and cholera. In addition are diseases related to previously known microorganisms which recently have...
Functional properties of vegetal concretes, such as hygrothermal and acoustical properties, are brought by the microstructure of the vegetal particles. However, data are necessary to develop biobased insulation materials by providing results on their long-term behaviour, and only fewstudies focus on this topic. A first step is to characterise the b...
Geomembranes (GMs) are widely used in hydraulic applications. Unfortunately, some additives contained in GMs are extracted upon prolonged contact with water or soil. Depending on their chemical nature, additives contained within GMs or degradation products thereof may affect natural ecosystems. To better understand this effect, the present study ev...
