Medicinal activities carried out within hospitals lead to a high consumption of antibiotics and subsequently result in a high excretion rate of antibiotic residues. These antibiotics consumed in human medicine are not fully absorbed by the body and are often discharged into the environment as biological waste from infected human patients. The significant water consumption in hospitals and the pharmaceutical impact on wastewater from healthcare facilities facilitate the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic-resistant genes in the environment. Hospital effluents could be doubly involved in the dissemination of antibiotic molecules and multidrug-resistant bacteria in various ecosystems. The objective of this study is to characterize hospital effluents by assessing antibiotic concentrations and the diversity of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in these hospital wastewaters and within the environment (aquatic environments; rivers), as well as to inventory the bacteria present and those carrying antibiotic resistance in both hospital wastewater and the environment.

The purpose of this paper is to apply China’s economy growth prospects and its potential drivers of future. China's fast rise and its growth model have accelerated important existing structural trends in the global economy and made them decisive characteristics of the world economy. China's role in the world economy over the coming decades, an exercise which would not be possible without an investigation of the prospects for China's continued economic rise. On the one hand, China is a large export market for the United States. A lot of U.S. firms use China as the final destination of assembly in their global supply chain networks. China’s huge holdings of U.S. Treasury securities support the federal government finance its budget failures. However, some analysts contend that China consolidates a number of distortive economic policies such as protectionist industrial policies and an undervalued currency that undermine U.S. economic interests. They warn that efforts by the Chinese government to promote indigenous innovation, often through the use of subsidies and other distortive measures, could negatively affect many leading U.S. industries

The Pierre Auger Observatory is the world's largest operating detection system for the observation of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). The detector allows detailed measurements of their energy spectrum, mass composition and arrival directions of primary cosmic rays in the energy range above $10^{17}$ eV. The data collected at the Observatory over the last decade show the suppression of the cosmic ray flux at energies above $4\times10^{19}$ eV. However, it is still unclear if this suppression is caused by the propagation of cosmic rays or rather by energy limitation of their sources. The other puzzle is the origin of UHECRs. Some clues can be drawn from studying the distribution of their arrival directions. The recently observed dipole anisotropy has an orientation which indicates an extragalactic origin of UHECRs. The Auger surface detector array is also sensitive to showers due to ultra high energy neutrinos of all flavours and photons, and recent neutrino and photon limits provided by the Observatory can constrain models of the cosmogenic neutrino production and exotic scenarios of the UHECRs origin, such as the decays of super heavy particles. In this paper the recent results on measurements of the energy spectrum, mass composition and arrival directions of cosmic rays, and future prospects are presented.

Arboviruses represents a real public health problem globally and in the Central African subregion in particular that represents a high risk zone for the emergence and re-emergence of arboviruses outbreaks. Furthermore, an updated review on the current arboviruses burden and associated mosquito vectors is lacking for this region. To contribute in filling this knowledge gap, the current study was designed with following objectives: (i) to systematically review data on the occurrence and distribution of arboviruses and mosquito fauna and (ii) to identify potential spillover mosquito species in Central African region in the last 30 years. Web search enabled the documentation of 2454 articles from different online databases. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and The Quality of Reporting of Meta-analyses (QUORUM) steps for a systematic review enabled the selection of 164 articles that fulfilled our selection criteria. Of the six arboviruses (Dengue Virus (DENV), Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV), Yellow Fever Virus (YFV), Zika Virus (ZIKV), Rift Valley Fever Virus (RVFV), and West Nile Virus (WNV)) of public health concern studied, the most frequently reported were Chikungunya and Dengue. The entomological records showed >248 species of mosquitoes and regrouped under 15 genera with Anopheles (n= 100 species), Culex (n= 56 species) and Aedes (n=52 species) having high species diversity. Three genera were rarely represented with only one species and included: Orthopodomyia, Lutzia, and Verrallina, but individuals of the genera Toxorhinchites and Finlayas were not identified upto the species level. We found that two Aedes species (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus) colonised the same microhabitat and were involved in major epidemics of the six medically important arboviruses and other less frequently identified mosquito-genera consisted of competent species and were associated with outbreaks of medical and zoonotic arboviruses. The present study reveals high species richness of competent mosquito-vectors that could lead to the spillover of medically important arboviruses in the region. Although epidemiological studies were found, they were not regularly documented and this also applies to vector competence and transmission studies. Future studies will consider unpublished information in dissertations, technical reports from different countries to enable it more consistent. A regional project entitled: Ecology of Arboviruses (EcoVir) is underway in three countries (Gabon, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire) to generate a more comprehensive epidemiological and entomological data on this topic.

The novel COVID-19 disease is a contagious acute respiratory infectious disease whose causative agent has been demonstrated to be a new virus of the coronavirus family, SARS- CoV-2. Multiple studies have already reported that risk factors for severe disease include older age and the presence of at least one of several underlying health conditions. However, a recent physiopathological report and the French COVID-19 scientific council have postulated a protective effect of tobacco smoking. Thanks to a meta-analysis, we have been able to demonstrate the statistical significance in this regard of twelve series from China, France and in the US, reporting three different smoking status (current smoker,former smoker, with a smoking history) as well as disease severity (with respectively odds-ratio of 1.78 [1.08-3.10], 4.60 [3.13-7.17], 2.74 [0.63-5.89]). Subsequently and using a Bayesian approach we have established that past, and present smoking is associated with more severe COVID-19 outcomes. Finally, we refute claims linking general population smoking status (N=O(10^8) or O(10^9)) to much smaller disease course series (N=O(10^4)). The latter point in particular is presented to stimulate academic discussion, and must be further investigated by well-designed studies.

The novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) is a contagious acute respiratory infectious disease whose causative agent has been demonstrated to be a novel virus of the coronavirus family, SARSCoV-2. A recent pre-print study has showed a heme attack on the 1-beta chain of hemoglobin by COVID19. Beta-thalassemia results of a default in the hemoglobin beta- chain synthesis. 1,5% global population are heterozygotes for this disease. In this study, by a multiple linear regression, we have analyzed the evolution of COVID-19 infection in three Italian regions (Puglia, Sardinia, Sicilia) with different beta-thalassemic prevalences, in order to search a link. The results have showed that betathalassemic heterozygote population prevalence is correlated to immunity against COVID-19, by a regression. This paper is only for academic discussion, the hypotheses and conclusions needs to be confirmed by further research .

Black variety of tiger nut tubers (Cyperus esculentus) were differently processed in ascorbic acid and alkaline (Ca(OH)2 and Kanwa) solutions at different concentrations and temperatures. The effect of these treatments on the water content (swelling), soluble loss, dehulling efficiency and microbial load was investigated. Water content or swelling of the tiger nut soaked in acid and alkaline solutions can be predicted by Peleg model like with brown variety. This swelling lead to enhance dehulling efficiency of tuber but caused soluble solute loss overall at the highest temperature of soaking in vitamin C solution. Like soaking in water, the constant of Peleg (k1) decrease with the increase of the temperature of soaking, whereas the constant of capacity of Peleg (k2) is approximately 0.018% for all the conditions. Dehulling efficiency also increased with increasing temperatures (65% at 20°C to 70% at 60°C) for tiger nut tubers soaked in water (0 g/L), dehulling efficiency appeared most strongly affected by concentrations and temperatures of soaking solutions. Like dehulling efficiency, ascorbic solutions has given the best results in term of reduction of microbial load compared to the other soaking solutions. This reduction is considerable at the higher temperatures, reaching a maximum of 4.8 log reduction. Soaking and dehulling treatments gave to tiger nut tuber effective decontamination in term of microbial load and obtained good microbiological quality for final process.

The challenge regarding COVID-19 is to prevent complications and fatal evolution. Azithromycin (AZM) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) have proven their antiviral effect in vitro. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of AZM alone or combined to HCQ, prescribed, at an early stage, in patients with Covid-19, in a primary care setting. Eighty-eight patients received either no or a symptomatic treatment (NST) (n=34) or AZM alone (n=34) or AZM+HCQ (n=20). The efficacy end point was the time to clinical recovery and the safety end point was the occurrence of cardiovascular events. The mean (SD) times to achieve clinical recovery were respectively 25.8 days (11.1), 12.9 days (13.4) and 9.2 days (9.3), showing a statistically significant difference between NST and AZM alone (p<0.0001) or AZM+HCQ (p<0.0001). To improve the evidence level, a case-control analysis was performed on a sample of 57 patients (19/group) matched for age, sex and BMI. The statistical difference between NST and AZM was confirmed (p=0.0149) as well as the difference with AZM+HCQ (p=0.0002). No cardiac toxicity was recorded in any patient. No statistical difference was shown between AZM and AZM+HCQ groups, although the dual therapy tended to be more effective in patients over 50 years, based on an analysis using the cox model. In conclusion, AZM and AZM+HCQ favourably impacted the course of the disease. We need trials, ideally prospective/double blind, to show if a statistical difference can be evidenced with a broader group, and clarify the indications of each treatment depending on initial clinical presentation.

The probability of the evolution of a character depends on two factors: the probability of moving from one character state to another character state and the probability of the new character state fixation. More the evolution of a character is probable more convergent evolution will be witnessed, consequently, convergent evolution could mean that the convergent character evolution result as a combination of these two factors. We investigate this phenomenon by studying the convergent evolution of biochemical functions. We use for the investigation the case of β-lactamases. β-lactamases hydrolyzes β-lactams which are antimicrobials able to block the DD-peptidases involved in bacterial cell wall synthesis. β-lactamase activity is present in two different superfamilies: the metallo-β-lactamase and the serine β-lactamase superfamily. The mechanism used to hydrolyze the β-lactam is different for the two superfamilies. We named this kind of evolution an allo-convergent evolution. We further show that the β-lactamase activity evolved several times within each superfamily, a convergent evolution type that we named iso-convergent evolution. Both types of convergent evolution can be explained by the two evolutionary mechanisms discussed above. The probability of moving from one state to another is explaining the promiscuous β-lactamase activity present in the ancestral sequences of each superfamily, while the probability of fixation is explained in part, by positive selection as the organisms having β-lactamase activity allows them to resist to organism secreting β-lactams. Indeed a mutation increasing the β-lactamases activity will be selected as the organisms having this activity will have an advantage over the others.

Studies suggest that elevated postnatal blood lead levels (BLLs) are negatively associated with child growth. This study aimed to investigate associations of childhood BLLs at age one-year and growth outcomes at age six-years (n=661) in a cohort of children in Allada, Benin. The growth outcomes studied are weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ), height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) and BMI-for-age Z-score (BMIZ), head circumference (HC), underweight, stunting, and wasting. Multivariable regression models examined associations between blood lead levels, growth outcomes with adjustment for potential confounders. The geometric mean BLLs was 59.3 μg/L and 82% of children had BLLs &gt;35 μg/L at one year. After adjusting for confounding factors, no association was found between BLLs quartiles and HAZ, WAZ, BMIZ, and height and weight growth velocities. However, boys in the highest quartile had 1.02 cm lower HC (95% CI: [-1.81, -0. 24]) as compared to those in the lowest quartile with a dose-response trend across quartiles (Ptrend =0.02). Furthermore, an increased risk of being stunted was observed in children in the highest quartile of exposure compared to the first (OR: 2.43; 95% CI: [1.11 – 5.33]) with a dose-response trend (Ptrend =0.03). Blood lead was found to be associated with an increased risk of childhood stunting and lower head circumference in a resource-limited setting.

Cathodic protection is widely used to protect metal structures from corrosion and is commonly applied on marine structures in seaports using sacrificial galvanic anodes. These anodes, either in Zinc, or preferen-tially nowadays in Al-Zn-In alloys, are expected to corrode instead of the metal to be protected. This leads to the release of specific dissolved species, Zn2+, Al3+, In3+ and solid phases like Al(OH)3. Few studies were conducted on the effects of anodes on marine organisms and concluded that further detailed investiga-tions are needed in controlled environments. We therefore propose an experimental approach to evaluate the effects of Zn and Al-Zn-In anodes on oysters stabulated in tanks, under conditions approaching those used in the ports. We chose a non-targeted metabolomic approach, using UHPLC coupled to HRMS, to study the effects on the entire metabolome, without any a priori. A modelling study of the chemical species, corresponding to the deg-radation products of the anodes, likely to be present near the exposed oysters, was also included. We identified 16 and 2 metabolites modulated by Zn- and Al-Zn-In-anodes respectively, involved in bi-ological functions, such as energy metabolism, osmoregulation, oxidative stress, lipid, nucleotide nucle-oside and amino acid metabolisms, defense and signaling pathways.

Background: In France, no previous studies had addressed the acquisition of multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria and colistin resistance genes by medical students when undertaking internships abroad. Methods: Nasopharyngeal, rectal, and vaginal swabs samples were collected from 382 French medical students before and after travel to investigate the acquisition of MDR bacteria. The bacterial diversity in the samples was assessed by culture on selective media. We also genetically characterised the isolates of MDR bacteria including Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriacae (CPE) using the real-time polymerase chain reaction method. The samples were collected from 293 students and were investigated for mcr colistin-resistance genes using RT-PCR directly on the samples, followed by conventional PCR and sequencing. Results: A proportion of 29.3% of the participants had acquired ESBL-E and 2.6% had acquired CPE. The most common species and ESBL-E encoding gene were Escherichia coli (98.4%) and bla_CTX-M-A (95.3%), respectively. A proportion of 6.8% of the participants had acquired mcr-1 genes, followed by mcr-3 (0.3%) and mcr-8 (0.3%). We found that taking part in humanitarian missions to orphanages, being in contact with children during travel, the primary destination of travel being Vietnam and north India, using antibiotics during travel, and studying in 2017 were associated with the acquisition of ESBL-E. When the primary destination of travel was Vietnam and the year of study was 2018, this was associated with acquisition of colistin resistance genes. Conclusion: Medical students are at a potential risk of acquiring ESBL-E, CPE and colistin resistance genes. A number of risk factors have been identified, which may be used to develop targeted preventive measures.

Persistent Pain after Spinal Surgery can be successfully addressed by Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS). International guidelines strongly recommend that a lead trial be performed before any permanent implantation. Recent clinical data highlight some major limitations of this approach. First, it appears that patient outcomes, WITH OR WITHOUT lead trial, are similar. In contrast, during trialing, infection rate drops drastically within time and can compromise the therapy. Using composite pain assessment experience and previous research, we hypothesized that ma-chine learning models could be robust screening tools and reliable predictors of long-term SCS efficacy. We developed several algorithms including logistic regression, Regularized Logistic Regression (RLR), naive Bayes classifier, artificial neural networks, random forest and gradient boosted trees to test this hypothesis and to perform internal and external validations, the objec-tive being to confront model predictions with lead trial results using a 1-year composite out-come from 103 patients. While almost all models have demonstrated superiority on lead trial-ing, the RLR model appears to represent the best compromise between complexity and inter-pretability in prediction of SCS efficacy. These results underscore the need to use AI based-predictive medicine, as a synergistic mathematical approach, aimed at helping implanters to optimize their clinical choices on daily practice.

This article describes techniques employed in the production of a synthetic dataset of driver telematics emulated from a similar real insurance dataset. The synthetic dataset generated has 100,000 policies that included observations about driver’s claims experience together with associated classical risk variables and telematics-related variables. This work is aimed to produce a resource that can be used to advance models to assess risks for usage-based insurance. It follows a three-stage process using machine learning algorithms. The first stage is simulating values for the number of claims as multiple binary classifications applying feedforward neural networks. The second stage is simulating values for aggregated amount of claims as regression using feedforward neural networks, with number of claims included in the set of feature variables. In the final stage, a synthetic portfolio of the space of feature variables is generated applying an extended SMOTE algorithm. The resulting dataset is evaluated by comparing the synthetic and real datasets when Poisson and gamma regression models are fitted to the respective data. Other visualization and data summarization produce remarkable similar statistics between the two datasets. We hope that researchers interested in obtaining telematics datasets to calibrate models or learning algorithms will find our work valuable.

There is a need to develop tools for mastitis management in goats and to measure the effects of milking machines on teats. Infrared thermography (IRT), as shown in cows, was a good candidate for early detection of mastitis and focusing on milking equipment and settings implicated in potential problems. The aim of this study was to test IRT to detect udder inflammation and the effects of mechanical milking on teats in relation to inflammation status, udder balance and teat shape in Alpine goats. IRT spectra were compared before and after milking in 551 goats from three commercial herds compared to their individual SCC (somatic cell count). We found no regression or trend between logSCC and IRT measurement or response to milking, even in highly inflamed goat udders. The effect of milking was significant (P

Turbulent dissipation is a central issue in the star and galaxy formation process. Its fundamental property of space-time intermittency, well characterised in incompressible laboratory experiments, remains elusive in cosmic turbulence. Progress requires the combination of state-of-the-art modelling, numerical simulations and observations. The power of such a combination is illustrated here where the statistical method intended to locate extrema of velocity shears in a turbulent field is applied to numerical simulations of compressible magneto-hydrodynamical (MHD) turbulence dedicated to dissipation scales and to a nearby turbulent diffuse molecular cloud. We demonstrate that short-spacing increments of observables can detect strongly dissipative structures. In our simulations, we compute structure functions of various synthetic observables and show that they verify Extended Self-Similarity. This allows to compute their intermittency exponents and we show how they could help constraining some properties of the underlying three-dimensional turbulence. In observations of a turbulent cloud close to the Sun in our Galaxy, a remarkable coherent structure of velocity shear extremum is disclosed . At the location of the largest velocity shear, this coherent structure is found to foster 10 × more carbon monoxide molecules than standard diffuse molecular gas, an enrichment supported by models of non-equilibrium warm chemistry triggered by turbulent dissipation. The power of the combination between modelling and observations is also illustrated by observations of the CH+ cation that provide unique quantitative informations on the kinetic energy trail in the massive, multi-phase and turbulent circum-galactic medium of a galaxy group at redshift z = 2.8.

Purpose: Melanoma’s incidence is increasing, and elderly people could be significantly impacted since the majority occurs in people over 65 years of age. Combined targeted therapies (TT) are current standard regimen for BRAF mutated metastatic melanoma (MM). Except for subgroups of pivotal trials, little data are available for TT in this population. Materials and Methods: Outcomes were explored in real life patients from MelBase, a French multicentric biobank dedicated to the prospective follow-up of unresectable stage III or IV melanoma. Patients treated by BRAF TT and/or MEK TT combined or not, were included from 2013 to 2017 in 2 groups: group 1 <65-year-old (yo), group 2 >65 yo, analyzed for tolerance and efficacy. Results: 353 patients were included: 231 in group 1, 122 in group 2. Median follow-up was 12 months (M). Median time of treatment was 6.9 M. A total of 80% had at least one Adverse Effect (AE). Most frequent AE (all grades) were mainly skin and subcutaneous, general, and gastrointestinal disorders. A total of 31% of AE were grade 3–4: 28% in group 1 and 39% in group 2 (p = 0.05). No differences were observed in all AE grades proportion, dose modifications, interruptions, and discontinuations. For each group, median overall survival was 20.3 M (CI 95%: 15.5–27.9) and 16.3 M (CI: 14.5–26.9), respectively (p = 0.8). Median progression free survival was 7.8 M (6.4–9.9) and 7.7 M (CI: 5.8–11.3) (p = 0.4). Objective response rate was 59% and 50% (p = 0.6). Conclusion: This study on a large multicentric cohort is the first to assess that TT is well tolerated in elderly BRAF-mutated patients such as in patients younger than 65. Efficacy was similar between groups with outcomes reaching those from pivotal studies. There is thus no argument against using TT in elderly people, although an onco-geriatric opinion is welcome for the most vulnerable.

We describe and analyze the Local Charged Particle Swarm Optimization (LCPSO) algorithm, that we designed to solve the problem of tracking a moving target releasing scalar information in a constrained environment using a swarm of agents. This method is inspired by flocking algorithms and the PSO algorithm for function optimization. Four parameters drive LCPSO: the number of agents; the inertia weight; the attraction/repulsion weight; and the inter-agent distance. Using APF, we provide a mathematical analysis of the LCPSO algorithm under some simplifying assumptions. First, the swarm will aggregate and attain a stable formation, whatever the initial conditions. Second, the swarm moves thanks to an attractor in the swarm, which serves as a guide for the other agents to head for the target. By focusing on a simple application of target tracking with communication constraints, we then remove those assumptions one by one. We show the algorithm is resilient to constraints on the communication range, and the behavior of the target. Results on simulation confirm our theoretical analysis. This provides useful guidelines to understand and control the LCPSO algorithm as a function of swarm characteristics as well as the nature of the target.

Lead exposure is associated with poor cognitive development in children. Very few studies in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have studied blood lead levels (BLLs) and non-gasoline sources of exposure in children. Data from a birth cohort in Benin (2011-2013) suggested that 58% of one-year-old children had BLLs > 50 ug/L. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of elevated BLLs (>50 µg/L and >100 µg /L) among 425 of these children at six-years-of-age in 2016-18 and to compare BLLs between age one-year and six-years and study sources of lead at six years. BLLs were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Multiple linear regression and quantile regressions were used to study potential sources of lead. The prevalence of BLLs >50 µg/L in children was 59.5% [Geometric Mean (GM) 56.4 µg/L, 95% CI: 54.1 - 58.7] at six years of age compared to 54.8% [GM 56.5 µg/L, 95% CI: 53.4-59.6] at one year of age. The prevalence of children with BLLs >100 µg/L decreased from 14.4% at one year of age to 8.2% at six years of age. After adjustment for all other covariates, consumption of peanut more than once per month was significantly associated with a 22.0% (95% CI: 4.6, 42.5) increment in BLLs at six years compared with no consumption. Consumption of bushmeat killed by lead bullets at six years was associated with an increase in the higher percentiles of BLLs (P75) compared with the absence of this source. Other potential sources of lead associated with BLLs with marginal significance were consumption of rice, paternal occupational exposure, and the presence of activity with the potential use of lead. This prospective cohort confirms the persistently high prevalence of elevated BLLs in children residing in a rural region in the south of Benin as well as the presence of multiple and continuous sources of lead. These results highlight the need for prevention programs to reduce and eliminate lead exposure in children.

The dominant paradigm holds that spontaneous and therapeutically induced anti-tumor responses are mediated mainly by CD8 T cells and directed against tumor-specific antigens (TSAs). The presence of specific TSAs on cancer cells can only be proven by mass spectrometry analyses. Bioinformatic predictions and reverse immunology studies cannot provide this type of conclusive evidence. Most TSAs are coded by unmutated non-canonical transcripts that arise from cancer-specific epigenetic and splicing aberrations. When searching for TSAs, mass spectrometry analyses must therefore interrogate not only the canonical reading frame of annotated exome but all reading frames of the entire translatome. The majority of aberrantly expressed TSAs (aeTSAs) derive from unstable short-lived proteins that are good substrates for direct MHC I presentation but poor substrates for cross-presentation. This is an important caveat because cancer cells are poor antigen-presenting cells and the immune system therefore depends on cross-presentation by dendritic cells (DCs) to detect the presence of TSAs. We therefore postulate that, in the untreated host, most aeTSAs are undetected by the immune system. We present evidence suggesting that vaccines inducing direct aeTSA presentation by DCs represent an attractive strategy for cancer treatment.

We demonstrated a new approach to the production of three-dimensional-coated patterns using liquid route. Metallic perovskite oxides were coated onto three-dimensional (3D) microstructured substrates with different aspect ratios. The success of the method relies on the solution viscosity monitored by adding viscous liquid. The process of oxide thin films consists in three steps: preparing the precursor solution, coating the solution by spin-coating process onto three-dimensional-Si substrates and post-annealing. The chemical solution 3D-coating is conformal.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects about 20–40% of the adult population in high-income countries and is now a leading indication for liver transplantation and can drive to hepatocellular carcinoma. The link between gut microbiota dysbiosis and NAFLD is now clearly established. Through analyses of the gut microbiota with shotgun metagenomics, we observed that compared to healthy controls, Adlercreutzia equolifaciens is depleted in patients with liver diseases such as NAFLD. Its abundance also decreases as the disease progresses and eventually disappears in the last stages indicating a strong association with disease severity. Moreover, we show that A. equolifaciens possesses anti-inflammatory properties, both in vitro and in vivo in a humanized mouse model of NAFLD. Therefore, our results demonstrate a link between NAFLD and the severity of liver disease and the presence of A. equolifaciens and its anti-inflammatory actions. Counterbalancing dysbiosis with this bacterium may be a promising live biotherapeutic strategy of liver diseases..

Soil bacteria drive key ecosystem functions, including nutrient mobilization, soil aggregation and crop bioprotection against pathogens. Bacterial diversity is thus considered a key component of soil health. Conventional agriculture reduces bacterial diversity in many ways. Compost tea has been suggested as a bioinoculant that may restore bacterial community diversity and promote crop performance under conventional agriculture. Here, we conducted a field experiment to test this hypothesis in a soybean-maize rotation. Compost tea application had no influence on bacterial diversity or community structure. Plant growth and yield were also unresponsive to compost tea application. Combined, our results suggest that our compost tea bacteria did not thrive in the soil, and that the positive impacts of compost tea applications reported elsewhere may be caused by different microbial groups (e.g., fungi, protists, nematodes) or by abiotic effects on soil (e.g., contribution of nutrients and dissolved organic matter). Further investigations are needed to elucidate the mechanisms through which compost tea influences crop performance.

An explanation of the origin of dark matter is suggested in this work. The argument is based on symmetry considerations about the concept of mass. In the Wigner's view, the rest mass and the spin of a free elementary particle in flat space-time are the two invariants that characterize the associated unitary irreducible representation of the Poincar\'e group. The Poincar\'e group has two and only two deformations with maximal symmetry. They describe respectively the de Sitter (dS) and Anti de Sitter (AdS) kinematic symmetries. Analogously to their shared flat space-time limit, two invariants, spin and energy scale for de Sitter and rest energy for Anti de Sitter, characterize the unitary irreducible representation associated with dS and AdS elementary systems. While the dS energy scale is a simple deformation of the Poincaré rest energy and so has a purely mass nature, AdS rest energy is the sum of a purely mass component and a kind of zero-point energy derived from the curvature. An analysis based on recent estimates on the chemical freeze-out temperature marking in Early Universe the phase transition quark-gluon plasma epoch to the hadron epoch supports the guess that dark matter energy might originate from an effective AdS curvature energy.

The Lewis basicity of selected organic bases, modeled by the enthalpies of adduct formation between gaseous BF3 and the bases in dichloromethane (DCM) solution, is critically examined. Although experimental enthalpies for a large number of molecules have been reported in the literature, it may be desirable to estimate missing or uncertain data for important Lewis bases. We have decided to use high-level ab initio procedures, combined with a polarized continuum solvation model, in which the solvated species are the clusters formed by specific hydrogen bonding of DCM with the Lewis base and the Lewis base/BF3 adduct. This mode of interaction with DCM corresponds to a specific solvation model (SSM). The results actually show that the enthalpy of BF3 adduct formation in DCM solution is clearly influenced by specific interactions, DCM acting as hydrogen-bonding donor (HBD) molecule in two ways: base/DCM and adduct/DCM, confirming that specific solvation is an important contribution to experimentally determined Lewis basicity scales. This analysis allows us to conclude that there are reasons to suspect some gas-phase values to be in error by more than the stated experimental uncertainty. Some experimental values in DCM solution that were uncertain because of identified reasons can be complemented by the computed values.

Currently, the clinical impact of cell therapy after a myocardial infarction (MI) is limited by low cell engraftment due to significant cell death, including apoptosis, in an infarcted, inflammatory, poor angiogenic environment, low cell retention and secondary migration. Cells interact with their environment through integrin mechanoreceptors that control their survival/apoptosis/differentiation/migration/proliferation. Optimizing these interactions may be a way of improving outcomes. The association of free cells with a 3D-scaffold may be a way to target their integrins. Collagen is the most abundant structural component of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the best contractility levels are achieved with cellular preparations containing collagen, fibrin, or Matrigel (i.e. tumor extract). In the interactions between cells and ECM, 3 main proteins are recognised: collagen, laminin and RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp) peptide. The RGD plays a key role in heart development, after MI, and on cardiac cells. Cardiomyocytes secrete their own laminin on collagen. The collagen has a non-functional cryptic RGD and is thus suboptimal for interactions with associated cells. The use of a collagen functionalized with RGD may help to improve collagen biofunctionality. It may help in the delivery of paracrine cells, whether or not they are contractile, and in assisting tissue engineering a safe contractile tissue.

The number of long-term cancer survivors increases continually. Understanding their needs is crucial to ensure an adequate follow-up. The aim of our study was to summarize the current literature concerning needs and what in-fluences these needs. A Scoping review of systematic reviews was conducted according to the recommendations of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). Four electronic databases were searched. Of 414 retrieved papers, 11 met the eligi-bility criteria. Needs were aggregated into six domains (health-related information, health system, mental, practical, relationship and physical) and 15 categories. The lack of adequate information and the lack of access and/or conti-nuity of supportive care were the most prominent needs. Female gender, younger age, a low level of family and/or social support, and higher educational level were identified as risk factors. Employment and relationship status can affect the needs both in a positive or negative way. The weeks or months after the end of the treatments are partic-ularly critical and needs can be emphasized during this period. Cancer survivors could also leave positive changes. The variety of needs affects the quality of life of cancer survivors. The current Swiss healthcare system is not de-signed to support these people. Needs assessments should be systematically provided to ensure a better awareness on the part of health professionals and to allow an individual, holistic, and integrated follow-up.

Eastern boundary upwelling systems feature strong zonal gradients of physical and biological ocean properties between cool, productive coastal oceans and warm, oligotrophic subtropical gyres. Zonal currents and jets (striations) are therefore likely to contribute to the transport of water properties between coastal and open oceanic regions. Multi-sensor satellite data are used to characterize the signatures of striations in sea surface temperature (SST), salinity (SSS), and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) in subtropical eastern North/South Pacific (ENP/ESP) upwelling systems. In the ENP, tracers exhibit striated patterns extending up to ~2500 km offshore. Striations in SST and SSS are highly correlated with quasi-zonal jets, suggesting that these jets contribute to SST/SSS mesoscale patterns via zonal advection. Chl-a striations are collocated with sea surface height (SSH) bands, a possible result of mesoscale eddy trains trapping nutrients and forming striated signals. In the ESP, striations are only found in SST and coincide with SSH bands, consistently with quasi-zonal jets located outside major zonal tracer gradients. An interplay between large-scale SST/SSS advection by the quasi-zonal jets, mesoscale SST/SSS advection by the large-scale meridional flow and eddy advection may explain the persistent ENP hydrographic striations. These results underline the importance of quasi-zonal jets for surface tracer structuring at the mesoscale.

At the end of mitosis the Mitotic Exit Network (MEN) pathway triggers complex tasks which mainly include the spindle disassembly and the nuclear envelopes assembly. In the course of telophase, which often lasts less than an hour and corresponds to only about 2% of the entire cell cycle’s duration, spatial and temporal cues are integrated to ensure that cytokinesis occurs after the genome has partitioned between mother and daughter cells. From the end of anaphase through telophase, sequential components of a Ras-like GTPase signaling pathway are controlled by a set of different spatial and temporal signals. Successful propagation of these signals through multi-step transduction requires a remarkable sequential coordination. By considering that cells lacking proper MEN function fail to exit from mitosis, I argue that in a hybrid genome impaired coordination between two diverged MENs is prone to result in critical mitotic defects, from late anaphase through telophase. The so-called HyMEN model of hybrid incompatibility depicted here can be regarded as an extension of the Bateson-Dobzhansky-Muller model of speciation, centered on the MEN.

Our first modern global pandemic is caused by a nanosized lipid vesicle, called SARS-CoV-2. Its molecular structure and biogenesis have remarkable similarities with Extracellular Vesicles (EVs, most notably exosomes) that are constantly shed by all cells during their life. Their resemblance may not be a coincidence. Growing body of evidence has shown that EVs have significant roles in various biological processes, including viral infection, transmission and anti-viral response. Drawing comparison with the virus might shed light on how we could fight the COVID-19 disease. This may include novel EV research and diagnostics technologies as well as novel EV-based treatments.

Immunohistochemistry is a widely used technique for research and diagnostic purposes that relies on the recognition by antibodies of antigens expressed in tissues. However, tissue processing and particularly formalin fixation affect the conformation of these antigens through the formation of methylene bridges. Although antigen retrieval techniques can partially restore antigen immunoreactivity, it is difficult to identify antibodies that can recognize their target especially in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. Most of the antibodies currently used in immunohistochemistry have been obtained by animal immunization; however, in vitro display techniques represent alternative strategies that have not been fully explored yet. This review provides an overview of phage display-based antibody selections using naïve antibody libraries on various supports (fixed cells, dissociated tissues, tissue fragments, and tissue sections) that have led to the identification of antibodies suitable for immunohistochemistry.

The extensive use of rare earth elements (REEs) in a number of technologies is expected to impact on human health, including occupational REE exposures. A body of experimental evidence on REE-associated toxicity has been accumulated in recent decades. Unlike experimental studies, the consequences of REE exposures to human health have been subjected to relatively fewer investigations. Geographical studies have been conducted on residents in the Chinese REE mining districts, reporting on REE bioaccumulation, and associations between REE residential exposures and adverse health effects. A more limited series of studies has been focused on occupational REE exposures, such as movie operator (with occurrence of cerium aerosol) with the observation of pneumoconiosis and lung fibrosis. Similar effects have been reported in case reports for other workers, such as a lens grinder and a printer exposed to carbon-arc lamp emission. As for the occupations related to REE mining and processing, REE bioaccumulation in scalp hair and excess REE urine levels were reported. A study was devoted to workers employed in e-waste separation, showing alterations of several plasma markers. As for other REE occupational exposures, mention should be made of: a) mechanical workshops, with exposures to diesel exhaust microparticulate (containing nanoCeO₂ as a catalytic additive) and, b) production and manufacture of REE supermagnets for hybrid engines and wind turbines. Diesel exhaust microparticulate has been studied in animal models, leading to evidence of several pathological effects in animals exposed by respiratory or systemic routes. As for supermagnet production and manufacture, a body of literature is reviewed of experimental studies, and of human exposure studies showing several pathological effects of static magnetic fields, warranting further investigations.

Persistent Spinal Pain Syndrome Type 2 (PSPS-T2), (Failed Back Surgery Syndrome), dramatically impacts on patient quality of life, as evidenced by Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) assessment tools. However, the importance of functioning, pain perception and psychological status in HRQoL can substantially vary between subjects. Our goal was to extract patient profiles based on HRQoL dimensions in a sample of PSPS-T2 patients and to identify factors associated with these profiles. Two classes were clearly identified using a mixture of mixed effect models from a clinical data set of 200 patients enrolled in “PREDIBACK”, a multicenter observational prospective study including PSPS-T2 patients with 1-year follow-up. We observed that HRQoL was more impacted by functional disability for first class patients (n=136) and by pain perception for second class patients (n=62). Males that perceive their work as physical were more impacted by disability than pain intensity. Lower education level, lack of adaptive coping strategies and higher pain intensity were significantly associated with HRQoL being more impacted by pain perception. The identification of such classes allows for a better understanding of HRQoL dimensions and opens the gate towards optimized health-related quality of life evaluation and personalized pain management.

The ability to read and quantify nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA using sequencing technologies has revolutionized our understanding of life. With the emergence of synthetic biology, these tools are now being put to work in new ways - enabling de novo biological design. Here, we show how sequencing is supporting the creation of a new wave of biological parts and systems, as well as providing the vast data sets needed for the machine learning of design rules for predictive bioengineering. However, we believe this is only the tip of the iceberg and end by providing an outlook on recent advances that will likely broaden the role of sequencing in synthetic biology and its deployment in real-world environments.

The multidimensionality of chronic pain forces us to look beyond isolated pain assessment such as pain intensity, which does not consider multiple key parameters, particularly in patients suffering from post-operative Persistent Spinal Pain Syndrome (PSPS-T2). Our ambition was to provide a novel Multi-dimensional Clinical Response Index (MCRI), including not only pain intensity but also functional capacity, anxiety-depression, quality of life and objective quantitative pain mapping assessments, the objective being to capture patient condition instantaneously, using machine learning techniques. Two hundred PSPS-T2 patients were enrolled in a real-life observational prospective PREDIBACK study with 12-month follow-up and received various treatments. From a multitude of questionnaires/scores, specific items were combined using exploratory factor analyses to create an optimally accurate MCRI; as a single composite index, using pairwise correlations between measurements, it appeared to better represent all pain dimensions than any other classical score. It appeared to be the best compromise among all existing indexes, showing the highest sensitivity/specificity related to Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC). Novel composite indexes could help to refine pain assessment by changing the physician’s perception of patient condition on the basis of objective and holistic metrics, and by providing new insights to therapy efficacy/patient outcome assessments, before ultimately being adapted to other pathologies.

Staudinger taught us that macromolecules were made up of the covalently bonded monomer repeat units chaining up as polymer chains. The chemical nature of the monomer directed the type of covalent bonds conferring most of the specific properties of the polymer. The more the number of repeat units the longer the chains and the more the possibility for the chains to assume a variety of shapes, from an extended elongated one to a more compact coiled one. Also, the chemical process that resulted in the synthesis of macromolecules produced many chains, often not with the same shape or size. The properties of the polymers improved when the chains became longer but it was more difficult to process them: their viscosity increased with molecular weight; viscosity was no longer an intensive property like it was for small liquids. The main question raised in polymer physics remains: how do these long chains interact and move as a group when submitted to shear deformation at high temperature when they are viscous liquids? This question is debated in a field of polymer physics called RHEOLOGY, whose purpose is to understand the viscoelastic aspects of polymer melts deformation. The current consensus is that we need to distinguish two cases: the deformation of “un-entangled chains” for macromolecules with molecular weight, M, smaller than Me, “the entanglement molecular weight”, and the deformation of “entangled” chains for M > Me. Several eminent scientists have extensively studied these 2 cases over the last 70 years. Paul J. Flory, in 1974, and Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, in 1991, have been awarded the Nobel Price in Chemistry and Physics, respectively, for their significant theoretical contribution to understand these challenging problems. For both of these authors the properties of polymers derive from the statistical characteristics of the macromolecule itself, the designated statistical system that defines the thermodynamic state of the polymer. Me, the molecular weight between entanglements, is defined from the rubber elasticity theory and is known to be equal to Mc/2 where Mc is the molecular weight for the entanglements when viscosity measurements are made. The current paradigm is that the viscoelasticity of un-entangled melts ( M < Mc) is well described by the Rouse model and that the entanglement issues raised by the impact of the increase of the length of the macromolecules on the melt viscoelasticity, when M > Mc, are well understood by the reptation model introduced by de Gennes and co-workers. Both models can be classified in the category of “chain dynamics statistics”. In this paper we examine in details the failures and the current challenges facing the current paradigm of polymer rheology: the Rouse model for M < Mc, the reptation model for M > Mc, the time-temperature superposition principle, the strain induced time dependence of viscosity, shear-refinement and sustained-orientation. The basic failure of the current paradigm and its inherent inability to fully describe the experimental reality is documented in this paper. In the discussion and conclusion of the paper we suggest that a different solution to explain the viscoelasticity of polymer chains and of their “entanglement” is needed. This requires a change of paradigm to describe the dynamics of the interactions within the chains and across the chains. A brief description of our currently proposed open dissipative statistical approach, “the Grain-Field Statistics”, is presented.

Hippocrate, the father of medicine, already said:"Wine is a thing wonderfully appropriate to man if, in health as in disease, it is administered with appropriate and just measure according to the individual constitution." wine has always accompanied humanity, for religion or for health. Christians and Jews need wine for the liturgy. For Platon the wine was an indispensable element in society and took all its importance in the symposium. In this second part of the banquet, mixed with water, the wine gave the word. If the french paradox made a lot of ink flow; it was the wine that was originally responsible for it. Many researchers have tried to share the alcohol and polyphenols in order to solve the mystery. Beyond its cardiovascular effects, there are also effects on longevity, metabolism, cancer prevention and neuroprotection, and the list goes on. The purpose of this work is to make an analysis of current knowledge on the subject. Indeed, if the paradigm of the antioxidants is seductive, it is perhaps by their prooxidant effect that the polyphenols could act, by an epigenetic process mediated by nrf2. Wine is a preserve of antioxidants for the winter and it is by this property that the wine acts, in alcoholic solution. A wine without alcohol is pure heresy. By the way, we were not talking about elixir to design all this millennial pharmacopee that made the man was able to heal and prosper on the planet. From Alvise Cornaro to Serge Renaud, nutrition was the key to health and longevity, whether Cretan or Okinawa diet, it is the small dose of alcohol (wine or sake) that allows the bioavailability of polyphenols. Moderate drinking give a protection for diseases and a longevity potential. In conclusion, let’s drink fewer, but drink better to live older.

MALDI-TOF is now considered as a relevant tool for the identification of arthropods, including lice and fleas. However, the duration and conditions of storage, such as in ethanol, which is frequently used to preserve these both ectoparasites, could impede their classification. The purpose of the present study was to assess the stability of MS profiles from Pediculus humanus corporis lice and Ctenocephalides felis fleas preserved in alcohol from one to four years and kinetically submitted to MALDI-TOF MS. A total of 469 cephalothoraxes from lice (n=170) and fleas (n=299) were tested. The reproducibility of the MS profiles was estimated based on the log score values (LSVs) obtained for query profiles compared to the reference profiles included in the MS database. Only MS spectra from P. humanus corporis and Ct. felis stored in alcohol for less than one year were included in the reference MS database. Approximately 75% of MS spectra from lice (75.2%, 94/125) and fleas (74.4%, 122/164) specimens stored in alcohol during 12 to 48 months, queried against the reference MS database, obtained a relevant identification. An accurate analysis revealed a significant decrease in the proportion of identification for both species stored for more than 22 months in alcohol. It was hypothesized that incomplete drying was responsible of MS spectra variations. Then, 45 lice and 60 fleas were subjected to longer drying periods from 12 to 24 hours. The increase in the drying period improved the proportion of relevant identification for lice (95%) and fleas (80%). This study highlighted that a correct rate of identification by MS could be obtained for lice and fleas preserved in alcohol for up to four years, on the condition that the drying period was sufficiently long for accurate identification.

The expression "metabolic reprogramming" is more and more encountered in the literature since the mid-1990s. It seems to encompass several notions depending on the author, but the lack of a clear definition allows it to be used as a "catch-all" expression. With the increased interest in metabolism, and more specifically, in the Warburg effect in cancer research, it seems appropriate to discuss this expression and related concepts in detail.

Physical laws manifest themselves through the amalgamation of mathematical symbols, numbers, functions, geometries, and relationships. These intricate combinations unfold within a mathematical model devised to capture and represent the ``objective reality'' of the system under examination. In this symbiotic relationship between physics and mathematics, the language of mathematics becomes a powerful tool for describing and predicting the behavior of the physical world. The language used and the associated concepts are in a perpetual state of evolution, mirroring the ongoing expansion of the phenomena accessible to our scientific understanding. In this contribution, written in honor of Richard Kerner, we delve into fundamental, at times seemingly elementary, elements of the mathematical language inherent to the physical sciences, guided by the overarching principles of symmetry and group theory. Our focus turns to the captivating realm of spheres, those strikingly symmetric entities that manifest prominently within our geometric landscape. By exploring the interplay between mathematical abstraction and the tangible beauty of symmetry, we seek to deepen our understanding of the underlying structures that govern our interpretation of the physical world.

The bonds of England and the UAE date back to over 220 years ago. This article explores the interference of Arabic prepositions in the English used in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and their occurrences in light of gender and level of education, two important social variables related to linguistic behavior. To do so, participants will translate 20 sentences in Arabic into English as well as fill in 30 gaps in sentences in English with the missing prepositions. We will also experiment how musical intelligence may improve Emiratis’ performance regarding preposition. A study will be carried out to verify if participants from the experimental group, who will receive training on prepositions through music, obtains better results compared to the control group, who will receive training through a more traditional way (by listening to the instructor and repeating).

In recent years, it has become common for individuals to juggle employment and unpaid care work. This is just as true for the England-based academic workforce, our focus in this article. We discuss how, in the context of English HE, support for carers is enacted and negotiated through policies and practices of care. Our focus on academics with a diverse range of caring responsibilities is unusual insofar as the literature on care in academia is overwhelmingly concerned with parents, usually mothers. The article is informed primarily by critical and post-structuralist feminist perspectives. We draw on a corpus of 47 interviews conducted with academics representing a broad range of caring responsibilities, subjects, and positions. A thematic analysis reveals how carers’ relationship with the provision and policies of care support at institutional level is characterised by ambiguity. On the one hand, participants approve of societal and institutional policy support for carers. On the other hand, they are often reluctant to position themselves as the beneficiary of such policies, expressing instead a general preference for support from outside the workplace or for workplace-based inter-individual and informal care arrangements. This resistance is particularly noticeable in the case of participants with caring responsibilities other than the parenting of healthy, able-bodied children and of those whose gender, class, racial, or sexual identity do not conform with the figure of the ‘ideal academic’, contributing to their othering in the academic realm. These findings have significant implications for policies supporting carers, pointing to the need for greater visibility and recognition of caring responsibilities in academia, especially in terms of their diverse identities.

The world is currently going through a serious pandemic of viral infection with SARS-CoV-2, a new isolate of coronavirus, resembling and surpassing the crisis that occurred in 2002 and 2013 with SARS and MERS, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 has currently infected more than 142,000 people, causing 5,000 deaths and reaching more than 130 countries worldwide. The very large spreading capacity of the virus clearly demonstrates the potential threat of respiratory viruses to human health, alarming governments around the world that preventive health policies and scientific research are pivotal to overcoming the crisis. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes flu-like symptoms in most cases. However, approximately 15% of patients will need hospitalization, and 5% require assisted ventilation, depending on the cohorts studied. What is intriguing, however, is the higher susceptibility of elderly individuals, especially those who are more than 60 years old and have comorbidities, including hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. In fact, the death rate in this group may be up to 10-12%. Interestingly, children are somehow protected and not included as a risk group.Thus, here, we discuss some possibilities of molecular and cellular mechanisms by which elderly subjects may be more susceptible to severe COVID-19. In this sense, we raise two main points: i) increased ACE-2 expression in pulmonary and heart tissue of chronic angiotensin 1 receptor (AT1R) blocker users and hypertensive individuals and ii) antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) after previous exposure to other circulating coronaviruses. We believe these are pivotal points for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of severe COVID-19 and must be addressed with attention by physicians and scientists in the field.

The emergence of Life has been a subject of intensive research for decades. Different approaches and different environmental “cradles” have been studied, from space to the deep-sea. Since the recent discovery of a natural electrical current through the deep-sea hydrothermal vent, a new energy source is considered for the transition from inorganic to organic. This energy source is used by modern microorganisms using a new trophic type, called electrotrophy. In this review, we draw the parallel between this metabolism and a new theory for the emergence of Life based on this electrical electron flow. Each step of the creation of Life is revised in the new light of this prebiotic electrochemical context, going from the evaluation of similar electrical current during the Hadean, the CO electroreduction into a prebiotic primordial soup, the production of proto-membranes, the energetic system inspired of the nitrate reduction, the proton gradient, and the transition to a planktonic proto-cell. Finally, this theory is compared to the two other theories in hydrothermal context, to assess its relevance to overcome the limitations of each one. Many critical factors that were limiting each theory can be overcome with the effect of the electrochemical reactions and the environmental changes produced.

Synthesis of heterodinuclear 3d transition metal complexes in which two metal ions are introduced in equivalent coordination sites of a ligand is quite uncommon. We have previously shown that the application of the cis-trans isomerization of the oxamido group was able to furnish such a possibility. In the present paper we demonstrate that this synthetic pathway, relying on the possibility of changing the conformation (cis vs trans) of the oxamido group, can be extended to other ligands. Although we have not been able to structurally characterize these complexes, EPR and magnetic data do confirm the efficiency of this reaction pathway. We also demonstrate that the cis-trans isomerization of the oxamido group is not due to a particular property of the ion involved in the reaction. In fact, isomerization is governed by the basicity of the reaction medium. According to the reaction condition, it is possible to favor or not this phenomenon, and to increase the accessibility to a larger number of novel genuine complexes. But the oxophilic character of the lanthanide ions impedes this isomerization in 3d-4f complexes. The very weak magnetic interactions observed in these Cu-Gd complexes can be explained thanks to spin polarization.

Economic valuations of ecosystem services often transfer previously estimated global unit values to the geographical setting of interest. While this approach produces quick results, its reliability depends on how representative the large-scale average unit values are for the given local context. Here, we estimate the values of three ecosystem services (ES) – water filtration, nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration – in the Grand River watershed (GRW) of southern Ontario, Canada. The watershed covers nearly 7000 km2, has a humid continental climate and a population of close to one million people. Land cover is dominated by agriculture. We compare ES valuations using locally derived (i.e., GRW-specific) unit values to valuations based on unit values from a regional database and those compiled in the global Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (ESVD). The regional database includes mean unit values from three case studies within southern Ontario and one boreal watershed in British Columbia. As expected, the regional database yields average monetary values for the three ES that are close to those obtained with the local unit values but with larger associated uncertainties. Using the ESVD, however, results in significantly higher monetary values for the ES. For water filtration, the ESVD value is more than five times higher than the regional and local estimates. We further illustrate the effect of the extent of aggregation of forested and agricultural land categories on the ES values. For example, by subdividing the forest category into three sub-categories (deciduous, coniferous, and mixed forest), the estimated value of the carbon sequestration ES of forested areas within the GRW increases by 15%. Overall, our results emphasize the importance of critically assessing the origin of unit values and the land cover resolution in ES valuation, especially when the latter is used as a policy-guiding tool.

Background and Objectives: The relevance of red flags in serious spinal pathology (SSP) evolved throughout the last years. Recently, new considerations have been proposed to expand the consideration of red flags. The purpose of this study was to determine, approve and test a model for the triage and manage-ment process of SSP based on the latest data available in the literature. Materials and Methods: The SSP model was initially built on the basis of a literature re-view. The model was further determined and approved by an expert panel us-ing a Delphi process. Finally, clinical scenario were used to test the applicabil-ity of the model. Results: After three rounds of Delphi process, panellists reached a consensus on a final version of the model. The use of clinical scenari-os by experts bring about reflexive elements both on the determined model and on the evocative SSP of the clinical cases. Conclusions: The validation of the model and its implementation in the clinical field could help assess the skills of first-line practitioners managing spinal painful patients. To this end, the devel-opment of additional clinical scenarios fitting with the determined model should be further considered.

Any quantization maps linearly functions on a phase space to symmetric operators in a Hilbert space. Covariant integral quantization combines operator-valued measure with symmetry group of the phase space. Covariant means that the quantization map intertwines classical (geometric operation) and quantum (unitary transformations) symmetries. Integral means that we use all ressources of integral calculus, in order to implement the method when we apply it to singular functions, or distributions, for which the integral calculus is an essential ingredient. In this paper we emphasize the deep connection between Fourier transform and covariant integral quantization when the Weyl-Heisenberg and affine groups are involved. We show with our generalisations of the Wigner-Weyl transform that many properties of the Weyl integral quantization, commonly viewed as optimal, are actually shared by a large family of integral quantizations.

Tumor cells evolve in a complex and heterogeneous environment composed of different cell types and an extracellular matrix. Current 2D culture methods are very limited in their ability to mimic the cancer cell environment. In recent years, various 3D models of cancer cells have been developed, notably in the form of spheroids/organoids, using scaffold or cancer-on-chip devices. However, these models have the disadvantage of not being able to precisely control the organization of multiple cell types in complex architecture and are sometimes not very reproducible in their production, and this is especially true for spheroids. Three-dimensional bioprinting can produce complex, multi-cellular, and reproducible constructs in which the matrix composition and rigidity can be adapted locally or globally to the tumor model studied. For these reasons, 3D bioprinting seems to be the technique of choice to mimic the tumor microenvironment in vivo as closely as possible. In this review, we discuss different 3D-bioprinting technologies, including bioinks and crosslinkers that can be used for in vitro cancer models, and the techniques used to study cells grown in hydrogels; finally, we provide some applications of bioprinted cancer models.

Controlling and understanding Cu-catalyzed homocoupling reaction is crucial to prompt the development of efficient Cu-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. The presence of a coordinating base (hydroxide, methoxide) enables the B-to-Cu(II) transmetalation from aryl boronic acid to CuIICl2 in methanol, through formation of a mixed Cu-(μ-OH)-B intermediates. A second B-to-Cu transmetalation to form bis-aryl Cu(II) complexes is disfavored. Instead, organocopper(II) dimers undergo a coupled transmetalation-electron-transfer (TET) allowing the formation of a bis-organocopper(III) complexes readily promoting reductive elimination. Based on this mechanism some guidelines are suggested to control the undesired formation of homocoupling product in Cu-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a hematological malignancy that predominantly affects the elderly. Prognosis declines with age. For those who cannot tolerate intensive chemotherapy, historically established treatment options have been hypomethylating agents (HMAs), low dose cytarabine (LDAC), and best supportive care (BSC). As the standard of care evolves for those unfit for intensive chemotherapy, there is a need to understand established treatment pathways, clinical outcomes and healthcare resource utilization in Canada. The CURRENT study was a retrospective chart review of AML patients not eligible for intensive chemotherapy who initiated first-line treatment between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2018. Data were collected from 170 Canadian patients treated at six hematology centers, of whom 118 received systemic therapy and 52 received BSC as first-line treatment. Median overall survival was 8.58 months and varied from 2.96 months for BSC to 13.31 months for HMAs. Over 80% of patients had at least one outpatient visit, and 67% of patients receiving systemic therapy and 71% of those receiving BSC had at least one admission to hospital, during their first line of therapy. A total of 96 (81.4%) patients receiving first line systemic therapy and 39 (75.0%) of those receiving first line BSC had at least one red blood cell or platelet transfusion. These findings highlight the unmet need for novel therapies for patients ineligible for intensive chemotherapy.

Liver radioembolization is a treatment option for unresectable liver cancers, performed by infusion of 90Y or 166Ho loaded spheres in the hepatic artery. As tumoral cells are mainly perfused via the liver artery unlike hepatic lobules, a twofold tumor to normal liver dose ratio is commonly obtained. To improve tumoral cells killing while preserving lobules, co-infusion of arterial vasoconstrictor has been proposed but with limited success: the hepatic arterial buffer response (HABR) and hepatic vascular escape mechanism hamper the arterioles vasoconstriction. The proposed project aims to take benefit of the HABR by co-infusing a mesenteric arterial vasodilator: the portal flow enhancement inducing the vasoconstriction of the intra sinusoids arterioles barely impacting liver tumors that are mainly fed by novel and anarchic external arterioles. Animal studies were reviewed and dopexamine was identified as a promising safe candidate reducing by 4 the hepatic lobules arterial flow. A clinical trial design is proposed. A four to sixfold improvement of the tumoral to normal tissue dose ratio is expected, pushing the therapy towards a real curative intention, especially in HCC where ultra-selective spheres delivery is often not possible.

In the context of the French tertiary decree, it is crucial to reduce the energy consumption of buildings by first addressing the design of the electrical architecture. Implementing Direct Current (DC) nanogrids in buildings could offers a promising advantage for energy efficiency, significantly impacting overall energy consumption and sustainability goals. For an insulated area with a subtropical climate, such as La Réunion island, DC nanogrids could also facilitate the insertion of local renewable energy sources, especially solar energy. This article presents the deployment and efficiency evaluation of an end-to-end Low Voltage Direct Current (LVDC) nanogrid, from conception to real-world installation within a company. The nanogrid consists of a photovoltaic power plant, a Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP) battery, and DC end-use equipment such as LED lighting and DC fans for two individual offices. An innovation is provided for the power supply and energy management of terminal equipment using the Power Over Ethernet (PoE) standard IEEE 802.3bt. The efficiency of the nanogrid is measured to be 40% higher than the efficiency of an installation powered by PV and distributed at 230 VAC. These results are obtained under certain deployment conditions, which are discussed in this article, in order to enhance the energy efficiency of buildings by using 48VDC. The nanogrid hardware and software infrastructure, the methodology employed for efficiency quantification and the measurement results are described in the paper.

Understanding and preventing the “great obstetrical syndromes” has been the focus of pregnancy research for decades. The combined global impact from these syndromes on maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality is compounded by increased long-term risk of adverse health effects following pregnancy. Accumulating evidence indicates that conditions such as pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction, spontaneous preterm labour, and stillbirth, are syndromes with etiologic heterogeneity that share common pathophysiologic pathways involving placental dysfunction. Recently, the importance of the interaction between fetal and maternal genomes has been extended to include the epigenetic impact of pre-existing maternal pathophysiology on placental development and highlights the importance of nutritional and environmental factors in altered placentation. Validated first-trimester screening algorithms for preeclampsia can identify high-risk women and prophylactic treatment with low-dose aspirin can be initiated. High-risk women can be monitored during the second trimester using clinical assessment, ultrasound, and biochemical markers, that are able to predict complications prior to the development of clinical signs and symptoms. The integration of lifestyle interventions, pregnancy screening, and medical management represents a conceptual advance in pregnancy care. This approach has the potential to significantly reduce pregnancy complications, maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, adverse health outcomes later in life, and health-care costs.

This research assesses the changes in the total water storage (TWS) during the twentieth century and their future projections in the Nile River Basin (NRB) via TWSA (TWS anomalies) records from GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment), GRACE-FO (Follow-On), data-driven-reanalysis TWSA and land surface model (LSM), in association with precipitation, temperature records, and standard drought indicators. The analytical approach incorporates the development of 100+ yearlong TWSA records using a probabilistic conditional distribution fitting approach by the GAMLSS (Generalized Additive Model for Location, Scale, and Shape) model. The drought and flooding severity, duration, magnitude, frequencies, and recurrence were assessed during the studied period. The results showed, 1- The NRB between 2002 to 2020 has transited to substantial wetter conditions. 2- The TWSA reanalysis records between 1901 to 2002 revealed that the NRB had experienced a positive increase in TWS during the wet and dry seasons. 3- The projected TWSA between 2021 to 2050 indicated slight positive changes in TWSA during the rainy seasons. The analysis of drought and flooding frequencies between 1901 to 2050 indicated the NRB has ~64 dry-years compared to ~86 wet-years. The 100+ yearlong TWSA records assured that the NRB transited to wetter conditions relative to few dry spells. These TWSA trajectories call for further water resources planning in the region especially during flood seasons. This research contributes to the ongoing efforts to improve the TWSA assessment and its associated dynamics for transboundary river basins. It also demonstrates how an extended TWSA record provides unique insights for water resources management in the NRB and similar regions.

This study focusses on the geological formations of the Alfallé massif located approximately 75km east of the town of N'Goura, in the Hadjer-Lamis Province of Chad (13°N, 17°E), and their ability to provide good quality aggregates in an area with poor hard rock ressources. We investigated the petrographic and mechanical characteristics of these formations in a resource perspective. The massif is made up of three lithologies: alkali feldspar megacrystalline granite, biotite-rich fine grained quartz monzonite and biotite-rich fine grained gneiss. Alkali feldspar megacrystalline granite is composed of quartz (30%), orthoclase (30%), plagioclase (20%), biotite (15%) and opaque minerals (≈5%). Micro-monzonite is composed of quartz (15-20%), orthoclase (20-25%), plagioclase (18-25%), biotite (20-25%) and opaque minerals (≈4%). The biotite gneiss is composed of quartz (25-30%), alkali feldspars (25-27%), plagioclase (17%), biotite (25-27%) and opaque minerals (≈5%). The mechanical characteristics of the aggregates show that the aggregates studied have specific density values of between 2.58 and 2.75g/cm3 with an average value of 2.66g/cm3, a Los-Angeles coefficient of 11.2% to 28.9% with an average value of 20.1% and a wet Micro-Deval coefficient of 5.2% to 10.8% with an average value of 7.6%. The values obtained indicate that the materials studied have excellent to satisfactory properties, and that Alfallé massif provide the best characteristics among six different quarrying area in Central Chad. We propose that such rare residual reliefs within the mega-Chad paleolake area reach optimal mechanical properties through a natural selection process, specific of the paleolake erosional conditions.

Nucleolin is an RNA binding protein that is involved in many post-transcriptional regulation steps of messenger RNAs in addition to its nucleolar role in ribosomal RNA transcription and assembly in pre-ribosomes. Acetylated nucleolin was found to be associated with nuclear speckles and to co-localize with the splicing factor SC35. Previous nuclear pull down of nucleolin identified several splicing components and factors involved in RNA polymerase II transcription associated with nucleolin. In this report, we show that these splicing components are specifics of the pre-catalytic A and B spliceosomes, while proteins recruited in the Bact, C and P complexes are absent from the nucleolin interacting proteins. Furthermore, we show that acetylated nucleolin co-localized with P-SF3B1, a marker of co-transcriptional active spliceosomes. P-SF3B1 complexes can be pulled down with nucleolin specific antibodies. Interestingly, the alternative splicing of Fibronectin at the IIICS and EDB sites was affected by nucleolin depletion. These data are consistent with a model where nucleolin could be a factor bridging RNA polymerase II transcription and assembly of pre-catalytic spliceosome similarly to its function in the co-transcriptional maturation of pre-rRNA.

This paper presents the development of a new system designed to measure the local temperature field in adiabatic shear band. Transient temperature field are simultaneously recorded by an array of 32 InSb infrared (IR) detectors and a streak camera working in visible-near infrared (VIS-NIR). Observations in IR offer a low temperature detection limit (350°C) but they are highly sensitive to uncertainty in the emissivity. Observations in VIS-NIR allow for measurement only at high temperatures (750°C) but they are less affected by uncertainty on emissivity and present a higher temperature sensitivity. By performing simultaneous measurements, it is possible to obtain data on a large temperature range with an improved accuracy at high temperature. The different sources of errors caused by uncertainty in the emissivity, spatial and temporal resolution of the detectors has been analyzed and an estimation of the total measurement uncertainty of the system is given.

Corticospinal excitability and particularly the balance between cortical inhibitory and excitatory processes (assessed in a muscle using transcranial magnetic stimulation), are affected by neurodegenerative pathologies or following a stroke. Non-fatiguing conventional locomotor exercise, such as cycling or walking, decreases intracortical inhibition and/or increases intracortical facilitation. These modifications notably seem to be a consequence of neurotrophic factors (e.g., brain-derived neurotrophic factors) resulting from hemodynamic solicitation. Furthermore, it can be inferred from non-invasive brain and peripheral stimulation studies that repeated activation of neural networks can endogenously shape neuroplasticity. Such mechanisms could also occur following eccentric exercises (i.e., active lengthening of the muscle), during which motor-related cortical potential is of greater magnitude and lasts longer (assessed by electroencephalography) than during concentric exercises (i.e., muscle shortening). As single-joint eccentric exercise decreased short- and long-interval intracortical inhibition and increased intracortical facilitation (assessed by paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation immediately after), locomotor eccentric exercise may be even more potent by adding hemodynamic-related neuroplastic processes to endogenous processes. Besides, eccentric exercise is especially useful to develop relatively high force levels at low cardiorespiratory and perceived intensity, which can be a training goal in addition to inducing neuroplastic changes. Further studies are required to understand how neuroplasticity is 1) acutely influenced by locomotor exercise characteristics (e.g., intensity, duration), 2) modulated by an exercise-based rehabilitation program, 3) related to functional cognitive and motor outcomes relevant to pathological population.

In this work a new method is proposed to tackle down the multiple objective optimization problem of the calculation of cation distribution in spinels structure, through the difference of intensity ratios between experimental and calculated intensities of cation sensitive Bragg planes, by introducing a new factor, Rabs, in Bertaut method. This factor is introduced as the sum of absolute R factors, and it is minimized by varying cation distribution. To test this method aluminate manganese spinel where synthesized though modified Pechini method and characterized though XRD. The results show to be in agreement with literature for the aluminum inversion in tetrahedral sites, which is near to the reported value of 10%. Also, it was noticed that the manganese atoms are present in octahedral sites with a mixed valence state of +2 and +3. Which might be an indicator that oxygen vacancies are present in the structure, so the vacancies value of oxygen is proposed considering the total charge of cations and thus proposing the value of 3.678 mol per formula unit of the spinel, thus having the next stoichiometry considering normalized Al and Mn, MnAl2O3.678. Finally, the last cation distribution proposed was [Mn0.867^(+2) Al0.129^(+3) ][Mn0.034^(+2) Mn0.098^(+3) Al1.871^(+3) ] O3.678 with a Rabs factor value of 0.6466, which considers the cation distribution and oxygen vacancies.

Serine/threonine kinase (AKT) signaling regulates diverse cellular processes and is one of the most important aberrant cell survival mechanisms associated with tumorigenesis, metastasis, and chemoresistance. Targeting AKT has become an effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of many cancers. AKT3 (PKBγ), the least studied isoform of the AKT family, has emerged as a major contributor to malignancy. AKT3 is frequently overexpressed in human cancers, and many regulatory oncogenic or tumor suppressor small non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including microRNAs (miRNAs), have recently been identified to be involved in regulating AKT3 expression. Therefore, a better understanding of regulatory miRNA/AKT3 networks may reveal novel biomarkers for diagnosis of patients with cancer and provide invaluable information for developing more effective therapeutic strategies. The aim of this review is to summarize current research progress in the isoform-specific functions of AKT3 in human cancers and the roles of dysregulated miRNA/AKT3 in specific types of human cancers.

This review discusses the distribution pattern, nesting style, mating behavior, and colony structure of the Asian weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) in Asia. Recent findings suggested that weaver ant occurrences are not only limited to tropical rainforests biome, agroforestry and large monoculture fields, but have encroached human rural habitation including densely populated urban areas. Comparatively, O. longinoda and O. smaragdina are taxonomically classified as two distinct species, but the main differences between them are strongly dependent on the allopatric nature or geographical speciation of their distribution. Although weaver ants are dominant ubiquitous and conspicuous arboreal insects with a predilection for habitation in trees canopies, viable nests colonies on the ground have been reported in Thailand. O. smaragdina usually construct their polydomous nests (multiple satellites nests arrangement within a single host but diverse plants species) by weaving tree-leaves using their larval silk. Knowledge on mating behavior is rudimentary; hence more studies are needed especially in understanding how weather parameters affect nuptial flight swarming act. At the colony organization level, comprehensive reports about minor and major workers contrasts with the poorly documented but significant intermediate size of workers caste. The versatile impact of Asian Oecophylla is offering important ecological subsistence services to both the nature and humans. This is by combining positive economic implications to food security concern with a provision of organic nutrients for host plants and highly healthful diet enhancer (nourishing-medicinal). Despite its wide presence in large oil palms monoculture, only one report had exposed weaver ants’ potential positive ecological impact (i.e. predation on bagworms Pteroma pendula) in Southeast Asia.

Field of ResearchThis research study investigates the role of distributed leadership and culture within small enterprises in Malta, an area in which there has been very limited research. It focuses on the interaction between these two elements and their impact on organizational behaviour and effectiveness. Several studies (Jardon et al 2019; Cope et al., 2011; de Oliveira et al., 2015; Mohanty et al., 2012;) suggest that effective leadership and culture are vital elements in the successful endeavours of small organizations. Schein (2006) further asserts that they are two different faces on the same coin and the dyadic interaction characterizes “how leaders create culture and how culture defines and creates leaders”. Distributed Leadership is a systematic practice of interactions and synergies between leaders, followers, and the situation (Spillane 2013). It is different from traditional leadership, which involves top-down management because it tends to be more democratic and participatory, whereby influence and decision-making are shared among multiple individuals rather than being controlled by a single leader. (Xhemajli et al. 2022) MethodologyAdopting a naturalistic approach and guided by an interpretivist, constructivist epistemological stance, this research delves into the intricate interplay between leadership and culture within small businesses. The chosen research methodology employs Grounded Theory, recognized for its robust and systematic process facilitating the observation of patterns through intensive iterative and highly analytical procedures (Charmaz, 2015).In the initial stages of field research, characterized by 'responsive interviewing' (Rubin and Rubin, 2012), data sampling commenced with convenience sampling. This initial phase gradually evolved into a refined strategy incorporating selective sampling and theoretical sampling (Corbin and Strauss, 2015). The shift in sampling approaches reflects a deliberate focus on collecting data based on its specific contribution to the development and comprehension of the dimensions, properties, and characteristics of key concepts.The induction of theory is a product of successive comparative analyses, involving the systematic comparison of data points to identify both similarities and variations. Abductive reasoning is integral throughout the analytical process, with particular emphasis during constant comparative analysis of categories, leading to theoretical integration (Charmaz, 2006). This meticulous approach aligns with the assertion of Strauss and Corbin (2015) that grounding theory in data enhances the likelihood of deriving theories that authentically reflect reality.The key advantage of using this approach is that the analysis carried out goes beyond deep exploration and rich description and actually develops a framework that explains the phenomena observed (Parker and Roffey, 1997, p.218). This is very important if the findings are to contribute to the knowledge enhancement of any field of practiceThe culmination of this research effort is the presentation of a set of interconnected concepts, intricately woven together into an emergent parsimonious model (Corbin and Strauss, 2015). This model serves to explain the dynamic interplay between leadership and culture, elucidating its tangible impact on the effectiveness of small enterprises. Research Contribution:Implications for PracticeThis research contributes to the literature on leadership and organizational culture in small enterprises, particularly in the context of Malta where such studies are scarce. By providing an initial exploration of these phenomena and their impact on organizational behavior, this paper lays the groundwork for further inquiry into this important area. Furthermore, the study offers practical insights for leaders of small enterprises by elucidating leadership behaviors observed in established organizations. Through applied cases, it demonstrates how the abstract concept of culture can be translated into a practical instrument that supports leadership and organizational development. This not only enriches the understanding of leadership dynamics but also provides tangible strategies for implementation. Moreover, the research contributes empirical evidence on the development of leadership functions within small enterprises, emphasizing the potential of shared and distributed leadership models. By grounding its findings in data, the study equips leaders with a deeper understanding of how these leadership approaches can shape organizational development, fostering more effective management practices in small businesses. Methodologically, the adoption of Grounded Theory methodology showcases its efficacy in exploring complex management phenomena. By employing this approach, the researchers were able to gather rich descriptions and develop an explanatory framework, highlighting its applicability in studying nuanced organizational dynamics. Implications for Policy and TheoryThis research also holds significant implications for policymakers, academic researchers and institutions involved in supporting small businesses. By providing insights into distributed leadership and cultural influences on organizational effectiveness, it offers a basis for informed policy formulation and support mechanisms. The conceptual model emerging from this study serves as a foundation for designing more targeted policies that cater to the unique needs of small enterprises. By understanding the intricacies of leadership dynamics and cultural contexts, policymakers can develop interventions that foster a conducive environment for small business growth and sustainability. Additionally, academic researchers can use these findings to further refine theoretical frameworks and empirical studies in the field, contributing to ongoing scholarly dialogue and knowledge advancement.

Background Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) combined with azithromycin (AZM) has been widely administered to patients with COVID-19 despite scientific controversies. In particular the potential to prolong cardiac repolarisation by using this combination has been discussed. Materials and methods We report a pragmatic and simple safety approach which we implemented in the first patients treated for COVID-19 in our center early 2020. Treatment contraindications were the presence of severe structural or electrical heart disease, baseline corrected QT interval (QTc) >500 ms, hypokalaemia, or other drugs prolonging QTc that could not be interrupted. Electrocardiogram and QTc was evaluated at admission and re-evaluated after 48 hours of the initial prescription. Results Among 424 consecutive adults (mean age 46.3 ± 16.1 years; 216 women). Patients were followed in conventional wards (21.5%) or in a day-care unit (78.5%). A total of 11 patients (2.6%) had contraindications to HCQ-AZ combination. In the remaining 413 treated patients, there were no arrhythmic events in any patient during the 10-day treatment regimen. QTc was slightly but statistically significantly prolonged by 3.75 ± 25.4 ms after two days (p=0.003). Ten patients (2.4%) developed QTc prolongation >60 ms, and none had QTc >500 ms. Conclusions This report do not aim to contribute to knowledge of the efficacy of treating COVID-19 with HCQ-AZ. However, a simple initial assessment of patient medical history, ECG and kalaemia identifies contraindicated patients and enables the safe treatment by HCQ-AZ of COVID-19 patients. QT-prolonging anti-infective drugs can be used safely in acute life-threatening infections, provided that a strict protocol and close collaboration between infectious disease specialists and rhythmologists are followed.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is nowadays one of the most used polymers for packaging applications. Modifications induced by service conditions and the optimal mean to recycle this matter several times have to be perfectly understood to allow a reuse for similar application (from bottle to bottle for example). The present study aims to compare physico-chemical properties, crystalline organization, and mechanical behaviour of virgin (vPET) and recycled PET (rPET). Using different combined experimental methods (Calorimetry, Small Angle X-ray Scattering, Atomic Force Microscopy, DMA, and uni-axial tensile test), it has been proven that even if there is no change in the crystallinity of PET, the crystallisation process shows some differences (size and number of spherulites). The potential impact of these differences on local mechanical characterization, at the lamella scale, is explored and tends to demonstrate the development of homogeneous microstructure, leading to well-controlled and relevant local mechanical properties. This approach increases the understanding of crystallisation of PET and recycled PET during forming processes such as thermoforming or injection stretch blow moulding (ISBM) where elongation at break can depend on the microstructure conditioned by the crystallisation process.

Abstract: (1) Background and rationale: To validate the reported therapeutic coverage, a lymphatic filariasis post-mass drug administration (MDA) campaign survey was conducted in the Lukonga health zone from 10 June to 15 July 2023. (2) Materials and methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted at the community level in 30 villages in the Lukonga health zone from 10 June to 15 July 2023. The study population included all individuals from the visited com-munities. The study variables included age, sex, drug use (ivermectin + albendazole), adverse events, and adherence to MDA guidelines for supervised drug use. Questionnaires were administered on Android phones using the SurveyCTO platform. Stata version 17 was used for data analysis. (3) Results: Of the 1092 respondents, 54.8% were female and one-third were between the ages of 5 and 14. Two-thirds of the households surveyed, or 64%, had more than six people living in them, and 1031 individuals, or 94%, reported being present during the community mass drug distribution. Notably, 678 individuals, or 66%, reported taking the drugs offered, and 66.4% of those who took the drugs reported doing so in the presence of drug distributors. Thus, the survey coverage was 65.7% [95% CI: 62.9–68.7]. The results of this study show that the survey coverage was above the 65% threshold recommended by the WHO but below the 82.3% reported by the Lukonga health zone. The main reason for non-compliance was a fear of ivermectin-related side effects (47%). Supervised or directly observed treatment was not adhered to (66.4%). (4) Discussion and conclusions: Key challenges to further increase treatment coverage include assessing data quality, building capacity, motivating drug distributors, improving data reporting tools, proper recording by drug distributors, and ac-curate reporting on non-residents who take the drugs during the MDA. In addition, harmonization of the numerator for calculating drug coverage in the health zone is critical.

Understanding the contribution of protected areas to pollinating insect conservation is crucial, especially in Haiti because of intense deforestation and environmental degradation. We compared pollinating insect assemblage composition and abundance in two protected areas: the suburban Wynne Farm Ecological Reserve (WFER) and the Urban National Park of Martissant (UNPM). Both sites encompass forest patches, agroforestry, and agricultural crops. Using colored pan-traps, we collected 3722 insects from six Orders, with 68.2% identified to family level due to taxonomic limitations. WFER exhibited significantly higher insect abundance than UNPM, though habitat differences varied between sites. Site, habitat, and their interaction significantly influenced insect composition. Among 118 identified families, only 30.51% were shared between sites. Our data suggest combined protection offers broader and more even insect diversity. We discovered patrimonial lepidopteran and hymenopteran species previously unrecorded in Haiti, emphasizing the importance of protected areas and the need for enhanced entomological expertise.

Soil moisture maps are essential for hydrological, agricultural and risk assessment applications. To best meet these requirements, it is essential to develop soil moisture products at high spatial resolution which is now made possible using the free Sentinel-1 (S1) SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) data. Some soil moisture retrieval techniques using S1 data relied on the use of a priori weather information in order to increase the precision of soil moisture estimates, which required access to a weather forecasting framework. This paper presents an improved and fully automated solution for high-resolution soil moisture mapping in bare agricultural areas. The proposed solution derives a priori weather information directly from the original Sentinel images, thus bypassing the need for a weather forecasting framework. For soil moisture estimation, the neural network technique was implemented to ensure the optimum integration of radar information. The neural networks were trained using synthetic data generated by the modified Integral Equation Model (IEM) model and validated on real data from two study sites in France and Tunisia. Main findings showed that the use of radar signal averaged over grids of a few km2 in addition to radar signal at plot scale instead of a priori weather information, provides good soil moisture estimations. The accuracy is even slightly better comparatively to the accuracy obtained using a priori weather information.

It is believed that fetal hemoglobin (HbF) expression in adults is largely genetically regulated. The increased expression of HbF in pregnancy has been reported in a small number of articles. Different mechanisms have been proposed, but the description of HbF expression during pregnancy remains unclear. The objectives of this study were to document HbF expression during peri and postpartum periods, confirm its maternal origin, and assess clinical and biochemical parameters potentially associated with HbF modulation. In this observational prospective study, 345 pregnant women were followed. At baseline, 169 had HbF expression (≥1% of total hemoglobin) and 176 did not have HbF expression. Women were followed at the obstetric clinic during their pregnancy. Clinical and biochemical parameters were measured at each visit. Analyses were made to determine which parameters had a significant correlation to HbF expression. Results show that HbF expression of ≥ 1% during peri and postpartum periods in pregnant women without influencing comorbidities is at its highest peak during the first trimester. In all women, it was proven that HbF was of maternal origin. A significant positive correlation between HbF expression, β-HCG, and HbA1C was present. A significant negative association between HbF expression and total hemoglobin was found. HbF expression induction during pregnancy is probably associated with increase in β-HCG and HbA1C, and decrease of total hemoglobin, which could temporarily reactivate the fetal erythropoietic system.

Abstract: Droughts are complex and gradually evolving conditions of extreme water deficits which can compromise livelihoods and ecological integrity, especially in fragile arid and semi-arid regions that depend on rainfed farming, such as Kitui West in south-eastern Kenya. Against the background of low ground-station density, 10 gridded rainfall products and four gridded temperature products were used to generate an ensemble of 40 calculations of the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) to assess uncertainties in the onset, duration and magnitude of past droughts. These uncertainties were driven more by variations between the rainfall products than variations between the temperature products. Remaining ambiguities in drought occurrence could be resolved by complementing the quantitative analysis with ground-based information from key informants engaged in disaster relief, effectively formulating an ensemble approach to SPEI-based drought identification to aid decision making. The reported trend towards drier conditions in Eastern Africa was confirmed for Kitui West by the majority of data products, whereas the rainfall effect on the increasingly dry conditions was more subtle than annual and seasonal declines and greater annual variation, which warrants further investigation. Nevertheless, the effects of increasing droughts are already felt on the ground and warrant decisive action.

As Li-ion batteries use is spreading, incidents in large energy storage systems (stationary storage containers, …) or in large-scale cell and battery storages (warehouse, recyclers, …), often leading to fire, are occurring on regular basis. Water remains one of the most efficient fire extinguishing agents for tackling those battery incidents and large quantities are usually necessary. Since bat-teries contains various potentially harmful components (metals and their oxides or salts, sol-vents…) and that thermal runway induced battery incidents are accompanied with complex and potentially multistage fume emissions (containing both gas and particles) the potential impact of fire run-off water on the environment should be considered and assessed carefully. The tests presented in this paper focus on the analysis of the composition of run-off waters used to spray NMC Li-ion modules under thermal runaway. It highlights that waters used for fire-fighting are susceptible to contain many metals, including Ni, Mn, Co, Li and Al mixed with other carbonaceous species (soot, tarballs) and sometimes undecomposed solvents used in the elec-trolyte. Extra-polation of pollutant concentrations compared with PNEC values showed that, for large scale incidents, run-off water could be potentially hazardous to the environment.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent disease and the leading cause of pain, disability, and quality of life deterioration. Our study sought to evaluate the image quality and dose of cone-beam com-puted tomography arthrography (CBCT-A) and compare them to digital radiography (DR) for OA diagnosis. Overall, 32 cases of CBCT-A and DR with OA met inclusion criteria and were prospectively analyzed. The Kellgren and Lawrence classification (KLC) stage, sclerosis, osteo-phytes, erosions, and mean joint width (MJW) were compared between CBCT-A and DR. Image quality was excellent in all CBCT-As, with excellent inter-observer agreement. OA un-der-classification was noticed with DR for MJW (p=0.02), osteophyte detection (<0.0001), and KLC (P<0.0001). The HU values obtained for the CBCT did not correspond to the values for MDCT, with a greater mean deviation obtained with the MDCT HU for MBIR1 than MBIR2. CBCT-A has been found to be more reliable for OA diagnosis than DR as revealed by our results using three-point rating scale for the qualitative image analysis, with higher quality and an ac-ceptable dose. Moreover, the use of this imaging technique permits the preoperative assessment of extremities in OA diagnosis, the upright position and bone microarchitecture analysis being two other advantages of CBCT-A.

In this study, we performed periodicity analyzes of selected daily solar (FI, CI), geomagnetic (Ap, Dst, Scalar B) and cosmic (CRI) activity indices for the last solar Cycle 24 (December 2008 to December 2019). To investigate the periodic variations of above selected data sets the Multi Taper Method (MTM), Morlet wavelet, Cross Wavelet Transform (XWT), and Wavelet Coherence (WTC) analysis techniques were used. In results of our analysis we found that i) the 25-33 and 2048-day periodicities exist in all data sets without any exception, while all other detected periodicities have data preferences, ii) all detected periods located around the maximum phase of the cycle (Cycle 24), iii) the phase relations between compared data sets periodicities are gradually changing from small periods to large ones; there are no phase relations between small periodicities and they show mixed phases, while they are completely in phase/antiphase for large periodicities, iv) all detected FI periodicities, except 2048 days periodicity, are common periodicities with all other data sets used in this study.

Background: Worldwide, around 73 million induced abortions take place every year. Of these, 45% are unsafe and can lead to complications. The evolution of the legal and practical landscape of abortion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) over the last few years necessitates a re-examination of the experience of induced abortion, leading this study to measure the incidence of abortion among young women (15 to 29 years of age), as well as the heterogeneity of this problem according to the residence of these young women (slum vs. non-slum areas). Methodology: We used representative survey data on women aged 15–49 in Kinshasa, collected from December 2021 to April 2022. The survey included questions about the respondents’ and their closest confidants’ experience of induced abortion, including the methods and sources used. We estimated abortion incidence and heterogeneity over one year based on residence in the city of Kinshasa according to sociodemographic characteristics. Results: The incidence rate of induced abortion among the confidants (close friends) in 2021 was 131.5 per 1000 (95% CI: IQR 99.4–163.6). These rates were significantly higher than the corresponding estimates of those surveyed. The incidence of induced abortion was 24.4 per 1000 (95% CI: 15.8–32.9) abortions per 1000 women among the respondents. The incidence rates of induced abortion were much higher among the respondents residing in slums than among those residing in non-slums (29.2 vs. 13.0 per 1000; p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: More precise estimates of the incidence of abortion indicate that the incidence rate of abortion was higher among young women residing in slums, who were unmarried and had no children. These incidences were higher among confidants than among respondents. There is still a lot of work to be done to fulfill the obligations outlined in the Maputo Protocol. This includes establishing easily accessible services that offer complete abortion care with a focus on women's needs, particularly in slum areas. The aim is to decrease the occurrence of unsafe abortions and their associated effects.

Surgical knots are sequences of half-knots (H) or half-hitches (S), defined by their number of throws, by an opposite or similar rotation compared with the previous one and for half-hitches, whether sliding (s) or blocking (b). Opposite rotation results in (more secure) symmetric (s) knots, similar rotation in asymmetric (a) knots, and changing active and passive ends has the same effect as changing rotation. Loop security is the force to keep tissue together after a first half-knot or sliding half-hitches. With polyfilament sutures H2, H3, SSs and SSsSsSs have a loop security of 10, 18, 28 and 48 Newton (N), respectively. With monofilament sutures, they are only 7, 16, 18 and 25N. Since many knots can reorganise, the definition of knot security as the force at which the knot opens or the suture breaks should be replaced by the clinically more relevant percentage of clinically dangerous and insecure knots. Secure knots with polyfilament sutures require a minimum of 4 or 5 throws, but the risk of destabilisation is high. With monofilament sutures, only 2 symmetric+4 asymmetric blocking half-hitches are secure. In conclusion, half-hitch sequences are recommended since mandatory for monofilament sutures, adding flexibility for loop security with less risk of destabilisation.

Covariant integral quantization with rotational symmetry SO(3) is established for the quantum motion on this group manifold, or, alternatively, for Gabor signal analysis on this group. We revisit the action of the related (non-unitary) Weyl-Gabor operator on the Hilbert space of square integrable functions on SO(3) and disclose a set of various properties. By selecting weight functions on the corresponding discrete-continuous phase space, one derives related coherent states and Wigner transform.

This paper describes the use of an open source instrument called LANcube v2 to build a lighting device inventory. The LANcube v2 is and instrument having 5 color sensitive sensors, each on a face of a cube. The instrument can be mounted on a car roof in order to create a map of the artificial light at night while roaming the streets and roads. Based on the temporal variations of the detected signal on various cube’s faces, we developed a method of finding the position in 3D of each lighting device. The lamp spectral types can be determined thanks to the color balance of the raw Red (R) Green (G) Blue (B) and Clear (C) color bands. If one assumes a typical angular photometry of a lighting device with respect to its location, it is possible to estimate its luminous flux. Such information allows us to build a lighting devices inventory of a territory. One advantage of that new method is that it can provide information about the private lighting devices that are always excluded from public lighting inventories. We will compare the inventory extracted with that new methodology with an in situ lamp inventory made for two villages in Canada. This will allow us to emphasize the strengths and limitations of the method by comparing to the ground truth.

This paper describes the optimal design of a miniature fiber-optic linear displacement sensor. It is characterized by its ability to measure displacements along a millimetric range with sub-micrometric resolution. The sensor consists of a triangular reflective grating and two fiber-optic probes. The measurement principle of the sensor is presented. The design of the sensor's triangular grating has been geometrically optimized by considering the step angle of the grating to enhance the sensor's resolution. The optimization method revealed a global optimum at which the highest resolution is obtained

Before the adaptive immune response is established, retroviruses can be targeted by several cellular host factors at different stages of the viral replication cycle. This intrinsic immunity relies on a large diversity of antiviral processes. In the case of HTLV-1 infection, these active innate host defence mechanisms are debated. Among these mechanisms, we focused on a RNA decay pathway called nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD), which can target multiple viral RNAs, including HTLV-1 unspliced RNA, as it has been recently demonstrated. NMD is a cotranslational process that depends on the RNA helicase UPF1 and regulates the expression of multiple types of host mRNAs. RNA sensitivity to NMD depends on mRNA organization and the ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) composition. HTLV-1 has evolved several means to evade the NMD threat, leading to NMD inhibition. In the early steps of infection, NMD inhibition favours the production of HTLV-1 infectious particles, which may contribute to the survival of the most fit clones despite genome instability; however, its direct long-term impact remains to be investigated.

Several genetic tools have been developed for Clostridium acetobutylicum utilizing 5-fluorouracil (5FU) or 5-fluorocytosine (5FC) resistance as a selection method. A method based on the integration, by single crossing-over, of a suicide plasmid (pCat-upp) followed by selection for the second crossing-over using a counter-selectable marker (the upp gene and 5FU resistance) was recently developed for genome editing in C. acetobutylicum. This method allows the modification of the genome without any marker or scar left in a strain of C. acetobutylicum that is ∆upp. Unfortunately, 5FU has strong mutagenic properties inducing mutations in the strain’s genome. After numerous applications of the pCat-upp/5FU system for genome modification in C. acetobutylicum, the bacteria became completely resistant to 5FU in the presence of the upp gene, resulting in failure in the selection for the second crossing-over. It was found that the potential repressor of the pyrimidine operon, PyrR, was mutated at position A115, leading to the 5FU resistance of the strain. We developed two plasmids, one overexpressing the native pyrR gene and a suicide plasmid carrying a non-mutated and optimized pyrR gene (pyrR*) and upp, which allowed us to restore the 5FU sensitivity of the strain. We also improved the pCat-upp/5FU system by reducing the concentration of 5FU from 1mM to 5 µM using a define synthetic medium.

Transarterial embolization (TAE) for high-flow pancreaticoduodenal artery (PDA) aneurysms in patients with celiac-trunk stenosis by the median arcuate ligament (MAL) has been found effective both after rupturing and to prevent rupture. The objective was to describe the TAE techniques used and their effectiveness in excluding PDA aneurysms due to MAL syndrome. This single-center retrospective study done at the Dijon-Bourgogne University Hospital included all patients treated by TAE in 2010–2022 for ruptured or unruptured high-flow PDA aneurysms caused by MAL syndrome. We identified 14 patients (7 women and 7 men; mean age, 64 years). Packing and trapping techniques were used alone or together. Occlusion was with microcoils, co-polymer, or cyanoacrylate glue, used separately or combined. Technical success was achieved in 13 (93%) patients. Clinical success was achieved in 12 (86%) patients. One major and two minor complications were recorded within the first 30 days. No complications occurred after 30 days. Follow-up ranged from 1 to 84 months. No cases of aneurysm recanalization were recorded to date. TAE had high technical and clinical success rates in our patients with unruptured or ruptured PDA aneurysms due to MAL syndrome.

Following the general aim of recapitulating the native mechanical properties of tissues and organs in vitro, the field of materials science and engineering has benefited from recent progress in developing compliant substrates with similar physical and chemical properties. In particular, in the field of mechanobiology, soft hydrogels can now reproduce the precise range of stiffnesses of healthy and pathological tissues to study the mechanisms behind cell response to mechanics. However, it was shown that biological tissues are not only elastic but also relax at different timescales. Cells can indeed perceive and actually need this dissipation because it is a critical signal integrated with other signals to define adhesion, spreading and even more complicated functions. The mechanical definition of hydrogels used in mechanobiology is however commonly limited to the elastic stiffness (Young’s modulus) and this value is known to depend greatly on the measurement conditions that are rarely reported. Here, we report that a simple relaxation test performed under well defined conditions can provide all the necessary information to characterize soft materials mechanically, by fitting the dissipation behavior with a generalized Maxwell model (GMM). The method was validated using soft polyacrylamide hydrogels and proved to be very useful to unveil precise mechanical properties of gels that cells can sense and offer a set of characteristic values that can be compared with what is typically reported from microindentation tests.

Background: Nowadays vital signs in clinics are electronically monitored excepted for urine output which still requires, manual recording, which is subject to human errors. We, in-vitro, assessed in this study the ability a novel electronic device to measure by a combination of two different methods, the real time flow-output, like urine output. Methods: Flow or urine output was measured by a combination technique of gravimetry using a dynamometer and capacitive sensing to improve precision. Data were obtained in 3 different situations, low, medium, and high flow. Results: Three different situations were tested: full or empty dead space and Pasteur’s chamber. The differences between the injected and measured volume varies from 0 to 5 ml representing a maximal error of 3 % regardless of the volume injected and the flow in ml/hour. The capacitive sensors behave as expected with a parallel curve of the expected and measured flow. Conclusion: We have shown in this in-vitro study that the combination of gravimetry and capacitive sensors analysis allow accurate measurement of volume and flow-output. Clinical trials should be conducted to confirm its usefulness in urine output measurement in the real life.

This paper establishes methods that quantify the structure of statistical interactions within a given data set using the characterization of information theory in cohomology by finite methods, and provides their expression in terms of statistical physic and machine learning. Following [1–3], we show directly that k multivariate mutual-informations (I_k) are k-coboundaries. The k-cocycles are given by I_k = 0, which generalize statistical independence to arbitrary dimension k. The topological approach allows to investigate Shannon’s information in the multivariate case without the assumptions of independent identically distributed variables. We develop the computationally tractable subcase of simplicial information cohomology represented by entropy H_k and information I_k landscapes. The I₁ component defines a self-internal energy functional U_k, and (−1)^k I_k,k≥2 components define the contribution to a free energy functional G_k of the k-body interactions. The set of information paths in simplicial structures is in bijection with the symmetric group and random processes, provides a topological expression of the 2nd law and points toward a discrete Noether theorem (1st law). The local minima of free-energy, related to conditional information negativity and the non-Shannonian cone of Yeung [4], characterize a minimum free energy complex. This complex formalizes the minimum free-energy principle in topology, provides a definition of a complex system, and characterizes a multiplicity of local minima that quantifies the diversity observed in biology. Finite data size effects and estimation bias severely constrain the effective computation of the information topology on data, and we provide simple statistical tests for the undersampling bias and for the k-dependences following [5]. We give an example of application of these methods to genetic expression and cell-type classification. The maximal positive I_k identifies the variables that co-vary the most in the population, whereas the minimal negative I_k identifies clusters and the variables that differentiate-segregate the most. The methods unravel biologically relevant I₁₀ with a sample size of 41. It establishes generic methods to quantify the epigenetic information storage and a unified epigenetic unsupervised learning formalism.

One of the challenges of deploying Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) at large scale is to operate for prolonged periods of time relying on the limited amounts of energy stored in its nodes. Generally, data communication is the main factor of draining energy. Consequently, reducing the amount of transmitted data by the nodes is of great interest. At the same time, reducing data to be transmitted should not decrease the quality of the deduced information. Solving this problematic is what we call in this article "Ensuring the Quality of Information Service (QoIS)". This document provides a state-of-the-art for the QoIS regarding WSNs. At first, we give a quick overview of the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm and the WSN technologies in order to understand how data is gathered and used in these networks. Also, we introduce a novel concept: QoIS, in contrast with classic QoS. Then, it is expected a summary of criteria that asses the QoIS in WSNs plus some techniques to improve it. In this article, we will focus on data management techniques. These techniques can improve raw data, information and/or knowledge quality in energy-constrained WSNs. Finally, we give some conclusions and a glimpse about our future work.

Healthcare workers have atypical working schedule and are exposed to experienced stress that led to poor sleep health and frequent mental complaints, particularly since the Covid-19 crisis. We conducted a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of poor sleep hygiene and mental complaints and their associations among healthcare workers. Usual sleep-wake timings were ex-plored during workdays and free days and used to compute sleep duration, sleep efficiency and social jetlag. Insomnia, sleepiness, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and fatigue were calculated using validated scales. A total of 1,562 participants were included (80.5% of women and mean age of 40.0). Among them, 25.9% slept less than 6 hours, 24.3% had a poor sleep efficiency, and 11.5% reported a social jetlag. A total of 33.9% of participants reported insomnia, 45.1% reported EDS, 13.1% reported fatigue, 16.5% reported depression and 35.7% reported anxiety. After ad-justment, sleep duration and sleep efficiency were associated with mental complaints. Social jetlag was associated with significant insomnia but not with anxiety or depression symptoms. Healthcare workers have a high prevalence of poor sleep hygiene and mental complaints. The promotion of sleep health through behavioral sleep strategies should be encouraged to ensure good health for these professionals.

High-penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) in low voltage distribution grids, mainly photovoltaics (PV), might lead to overvoltage in the point of common coupling. Volt-VAr is one of the common control functions for DER power converters used to enhance the stability and the reliability of the voltage in the distribution system and, thus, fulfilling the network operator requirements. In this study, a centralized algorithm will provide local Volt-VAr control parameters to each PV inverter, based on the electrical grid characteristics where each equipment is installed. Since accurate information of grid characteristics is typically not available, the parametrization of the electrical grid is done using power meter data in DER location and a voltage sensitivity matrix. The algorithm has different optimization modes to both minimize voltage deviation and line current. In order to validate the effectiveness of the algorithm and its deployment in real infrastructure, it has been tested in an experimental setup with PV emulators in a set of 5-day tests. Volt-VAr control algorithm successfully adapted its parameters based on grid topology and PV inverter characteristics, achieving a voltage reduction up to 25% of the allowed voltage deviation.

Diving decompression theory hypothesizes inflammatory processes as a source of micronuclei which could increase related risks. Therefore, we tested 10 healthy, male divers. They performed 6-8 dives with a maximum of two dives per day at depths ranging from 21 to 122 msw with CCR mixed gas diving. Post-dive VGE were counted by echocardiography. Saliva and urine samples were taken before and after each dive to evaluate to evaluate inflammation: ROS production, lipid peroxidation (8-iso-PGF2), DNA damage (8-OH-dG), cytokines (TNF-, IL-6, and neopterin). VGE exhibits a progressive reduction followed by an increase (p<0.0001) which parallels in-flammation responses. Indeed, ROS, 8-iso-PGF2, IL-6 and neopterin increases from 0.19 ± 0.02 to 1.13 ± 0.09 μmol.min−1 (p<0.001); 199.8 ± 55.9 to 632.7 ± 73.3 ng.mg-1 creatinine (p<0.0001); 2.35 ± 0.54 to 19.5 ± 2.96 pg.ml-1 (p<0.001); and 93.7 ± 11.2 to 299 ± 25.9 μmol·mol−1 creatinine (p=0.005), respectively. The variation after each dive was held constant around 158.3 ± 6.9% (p = 0.021); 151.4 ± 5.7% (p <0.0001); 176.3 ± 11.9% (p<0.0001); and 160.1 ± 5.6% (p<0.001), respectively. When oxy-inflammation reaches a certain level, it exceeds hormetic coping mechanisms allowing second-generation micronuclei substantiated by an increase of VGE after an initial continuous decrease consistent with a depletion of “first generation” pre-existing micronuclei.

In the same way as the realization of some of the famous gedanken experiments imagined by the founding fathers of quantum mechanics has recently led to the current renewal of the interpretation of quantum physics, it seems that the most recent progresses of observational astrophysics can be interpreted as the realization of some cosmological gedanken experiments such as the removal from the universe of the whole visible matter or the cosmic time travel leading to a new cosmological standard model. This standard model involves two dark components of the universe, dark energy and dark matter. Whereas dark energy is usually associated with the cosmological constant, we propose to explain dark matter as a pure QCD effect, namely a gluonic Bose Einstein condensate, following the transition from the quark gluon plasma phase to the colorless hadronic phase. Our approach not only allows us to assume a ratio Dark/Visible equal to 11/2 but also provides gluons and (anti-)quarks with an extra mass of vibrational nature. Such an interpretation would comfort the idea that, apart from the violation of the matter/antimatter symmetry satisfying the Sakharov’s conditions, the reconciliation of particle physics and cosmology needs not the recourse to any ad hoc fields, particles or hidden variables.

Dicrocoeliosis is a common parasitic disease in European sheep farming. The prevalence of infec-tion by this parasite can reach almost 70% in areas where the environment is favourable to inter-mediate hosts. In France, only one drug is currently available for the treatment of dicrocoeliosis, albendazole at a dose of 15 mg/kg in a single administration. However, a control coproscopy fol-lowing a routine treatment led us to suspect that the efficacy of albendazole against Dicrocoelium dendriticum had diminished. We therefore carried out an efficacy test on 15 animals by treating them with albendazole at a dose of 15 mg/kg and performing a coproscopy on D0 and a control coproscopy 14 days later. We obtained a 38% reduction in the excretion of Dicrocoelium dendriticum eggs. This shows a re-duction in the expected efficacy of albendazole, which is normally more than 90% in other studies involving this molecule at a dosage of 15 mg/kg.

In recent years, the concept of Fiducial Reference Measurements (FRM) has been developed to highlight the need for precise and well-characterised measurements tailored explicitly to the post-launch calibration and validation (Cal/Val) of Earth observation satellite missions. The confidence that stems from robust unambiguous uncertainty assessment of space observations is fundamental to assessing the changes in the Earth system and climate model prediction, and delivering the essential evidence-based input for policy makers and society striving to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The underlying concept of an FRM has long been a core element of a Cal/Val program, providing a ‘trustable’ reference against which performance can be anchored or assessed. The ‘FRM’ label was created to embody into such a reference a set of key criteria. These criteria included the establishment of documented evidence of uncertainty with respect to a community-agreed reference (ideally SI-traceable) and specific tailoring to the needs of a satellite mission. It, therefore, facilitates comparison and interoperability between products and missions in a cost-efficient manner. CEOS Working Group Cal/Val (WGCV) is now putting in place a framework to assess the maturity and compliance of a ‘Cal/Val reference measurement’ in terms of a set of community-agreed criteria which define it to be of CEOS-FRM quality. The assessment process is based on a maturity matrix that provides a visual assessment of the state of any FRM against each of a set of given criteria; making visible where it is mature and where evolution and effort needs to be done. This paper provides the overarching definition of what constitutes an FRM and introduces the new CEOS FRM assessment framework.

Rapid search and localization for nuclear sources can be an important aspect in preventing human harm from illicit material in dirty bombs or from contamination. In the case of a single mobile radiation detector, there are numerous challenges to overcome such as weak source intensity, multiple sources, background radiation, and the presence of obstructions, i.e., a non-convex environment. In this work, we investigate the sequential decision making capability of deep reinforcement learning in the nuclear source search context. A novel neural network architecture (RAD-A2C) based on the actor critic (A2C) framework and a particle filter gated recurrent unit for localization is proposed. Performance is studied in a randomized 20 x 20 m convex and non-convex environment across a range of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)s for a single detector and single source. RAD-A2C performance is compared to both an information-driven controller that uses a bootstrap particle filter and to a gradient search (GS) algorithm. We find that the RAD-A2C has comparable performance to the information-driven controller across SNR in a convex environment and at lower computational complexity per action. The RAD-A2C far outperforms the GS algorithm in the non-convex environment with greater than 95% median completion rate for up to seven obstructions.

Context. During the COVID-19 pandemic, patient care was mainly organised around the hospital. Pre-hospital care has, to our knowledge, never been evaluated. Objective: To evaluate the impact of pre-hospital pathways on hospitalisation during the last part of the pandemic. Design. This was a monocentric retrospective analysis of prospectively collected medical records. Data from patients admitted to our institute between 1 February and 7 March 2022 were analysed. Main Outcome Measure(s): The primary outcomes were defined as the number of hospitalisations, resuscitations, and deaths at the time of interview and in the subsequent 30 days. The main explanatory variables were times from onset of symptoms to care, age, gender, News2 score, comorbidities, and pre-hospital pathways and their duration. Results: Three pre-hospital pathways have been identified: a pathway in which the patient consults a general practitioner for a test (PHP1); a pathway in which the patient consulted for care (PHP2); and no pre-hospital pathway and direct admission to hospital (PHP3). Factors independently associated with outcome (hospitalisation) were being male (OR 95% CI; 2.21 [1.01–4.84], p=0,04), News2 score (OR 95% CI; 2.04 [1.65–2.51], p<0.001), obesity (OR 95% CI; 3.45 [1.48–8.09], p=0.005), D-dimers > 0.5 µg/ml (OR 95% CI; 3.45 [1.47–8.12], p=0.005), prolonged time from symptoms to hospital care (PHP duration) (OR 95% CI; 1.07 [1.01–1.14], p=0.03). All things being equal, patients with a “PHP2” pre-hospital pathway had a higher probability of hospitalisation compared to those with a “PHP3” pre-hospital pathway (OR 95% CI; 4.31 [1.48–12.55], p=0.007). Conclusions. Along with recognised risk factors such as gender, News 2 score, and obesity, the patient’s pre-hospital pathway is an important risk factor associated with hospitalisation.

The objective of this study was to detail the monomer composition of resin-based dental materials sold in the market in 2023 and to evaluate the proportion of BPA derivatives in relation with their applications. A search on manufacturers’ websites was performed to reference resin-based dental materials currently on the market. Their monomer composition was determined from material safety data sheets and completed with a search on PubMed database. Among the 543 material compositions exploitable, 382 (70.3%) contained BPA derivatives. Among them, 56.2% contained BisGMA, 28% BisEMA, the most frequently reported. A total of 59 monomers of which 6 BPA-derivatives were found. 309 materials (56.9%) contained UDMA and 292 (53.8%) TEGDMA. Less than one third of materials identified contained no BPA derivatives. These proportions vary a lot depending on their applications with materials dedicated to dental care of young populations containing the highest proportions of BPA-derivatives monomers. The long-term effects on human health of the different monomers identified including BPA-derivatives monomers is a source of concern. For children and pregnant or lactating women arises the question to take a precautionary principle and avoid the use of resin-based dental materials likely to release BPA by opting for alternative materials.

We develop a mathematical model to provide epidemic predictions for the 2019-nCov epidemic in Wuhan, China. We use reported case data up to January 31, 2020 from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission to parameterize the model. From the parameterized model we identify the number of unreported cases. We then use the model to project the epidemic forward with varying level of public health interventions. The model predictions emphasize the importance of major public health interventions in controlling 2019-nCov epidemics.

Viral hepatitis remains one of the largest public health concerns worldwide. Especially in Central Africa, information on hepatitis virus infections has been limited, although the prevalence in this region has been reported to be higher than the global average. To reveal the current status of hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV) infections and the genetic diversity of the viruses, we conducted longitudinal surveillance in Gabon. We detected 22 HBV and 9 HCV infections in 2,047 patients with febrile illness. Genetic analyses of HBV identified subgenotype A1 for the first time in Gabon and an insertion generating a frameshift to create an X-preC/C fusion protein. We also revealed that most of the detected HCVs belonged to the “Gabon-specific” HCV subtype 4e (HCV-4e), and the entire nucleotide sequence of the HCV-4e polyprotein was determined to establish the first reference sequence. HCV-4e strains possessed resistance-associated substitutions similar to those of other HCV-4 strains, indicating that the use of direct-acting antiviral therapy may be complex. These results provide a better understanding of the current situation of hepatitis B and C virus infections in Central Africa, and will help public health organizations develop effective countermeasures to eliminate chronic viral hepatitis in this region.

Utilizing lignocellulosic biosourced platforms, we synthesized novel cyanostilbene (CS) deriva-tives featuring the 3,4-dimethoxyphenyl moiety. These derivatives were investigated for their emission properties in both solution and solid states. The two simple CS derivatives exhibit very weak luminescence in solution but significant luminescence in the solid state, indicating distinct Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE) characteristic. Furthermore, combining these two CS units, without conjugation and with quasi perpendicular orientation, results in Dual-State Emission (DSE) fluorophore showing luminescence both in solution and solid states. X-ray crys-tallography studies on the solid-state compounds reveal a structure-emission relationship, demonstrating that the colour emission correlates with the conformations adopted by the mol-ecules in the solid state, which influence the type of stacking.

Despite constituting the western-most edge of the population distributions for several native European flora, Ireland has largely been left out of key Europe-wide phylogeographic studies. This is true for birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh. and Betula pendula Roth.), for which the genetic diversity has yet to be mapped for Ireland. Here, we used eight cpDNA (two RFLP and six SSR) markers to map the genetic diversity of B. pubescens, B. pendula and putative hybrid individuals sampled from 19 populations spread cross most of the island of Ireland. Within Ireland, 11 distinct haplotypes were detected, the most common of which (H1) was also detected in England, Scotland, France and Norway. A moderate level of population structuring (GST = 0.282) was found across Ireland and the genetic diversity of its northern populations was twice that of its southern populations. This indicates that, unlike other native Irish trees, such as oak and alder, post-glacial recolonisation by birch did not begin in the south (i.e., from Iberia). Rather, and in agreement with palynological data, birch most likely migrated in from eastern populations in Britain. Finally, we highlight Irish populations with comparatively unique genetic structure which may be included as part of European genetic conservation networks.

Purpose: While resultant maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) is commonly used to assess muscular performance, the simultaneous activation of antagonist muscles could dramatically underestimate the strength of the agonist muscles. While quantification of antagonist torque has been performed in plantar- (PF) and dorsi-flexion (DF) joint in isometric conditions, it has yet to be determined in anisometric (concentric and eccentric) conditions. Methods: The experiment was performed in 9 participants through 2 sessions (reliability). The MVCs in DF and PF were measured in isometric, concentric and eccentric conditions (10°.s^-1). Electromyographic (EMG) activities from the soleus, gastrocnemius medialis and lateralis, and tibialis anterior muscles were simultaneously recorded. The EMG biofeedback method was used to quantify antagonist torque, where participants were asked to maintain a level of EMG activity, corresponding to antagonist EMG activity and related to the muscle contraction type, according to a visual EMG bio-feedback displayed on a screen. Results: Resultant torque significantly underestimated agonist torque in DF MVC (30-65%) and to a lesser extent in PF MVC (3%). Triceps surae antagonist torque was significantly modified with muscle contraction type, showing higher antagonist torque in isometric (29 Nm) than eccentric (23 Nm, p < 0.001) and concentric (14 Nm, p < 0.001) conditions and resulting in modification of the DF MVC torque-velocity shape. The difference between DF eccentric and concentric MVC was attenuated when considered agonist torque (12%) rather than resultant torque (45%). Conclusion: Estimation of the antagonist torque in isometric or anisometric condition brings new insights to assessment of muscular performance and could result in costly misinterpretation in strength training and/or rehabilitation programs.

This study investigated the speciation, transformation and availability of P during indigenous vegetable production by employing a combination of chemical and spectroscopic techniques. The study focused upon sites in two ecozones of SSA, the Dry Savanna (lna, Benin Republic) and Rainforest (Ilesha, Nigeria). Both sites were cultivated with two indigenous vegetable species; local amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus (AV)) and African eggplant (Solanum macrocarpon (SM)). The soils were treated with 5 t/ha poultry manure and urea fertilizer at the rate of 0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 kg N/ha. Soil samples were collected before planting and after harvest. Phosphorus K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy was used to determine P speciation in these soils. Quantitative analysis showed that adsorbed and organic P were the two dominant P species in the manure amended Dry Savanna (DS) soils before planting and after harvest in soils cultivated with both AV and SM, with the addition of urea (40 kg N/ha) causing an increase in the organic P form in Dry Savanna soils cultivated with AV. Soils of the Rainforest (RF) cultivated with AV initially had large amounts of apatite P in the manure amended soils prior to planting which was transformed to adsorbed and organic P after harvest. Urea addition to the Rainforest soils shifted the dominant P species from organic P to adsorbed and apatite P, which is likely to limit P availability. Soils cultivated with SM had similar proportions of both organic and adsorbed P forms, with 40 kg N/ha addition slightly increased the proportion of adsorbed P.