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- The Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian framework allows to compute free surface flows with the Finite Element functions defined on a fittedmesh which follows the globalmotion of the fluid domain. We describe here how freefem++ can be used to implement this method, and we provide two and three dimensional illustrations in the context of water waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Introducing small DNA molecules (Dbait) impairs the repair of damaged chromosomes and provides a new method for enhancing the efficiency of radiotherapy in radio-resistant tumors. The radiosensitizing activity is dependent upon the efficient delivery of Dbait molecules into the tumor cells. Different strategies have been compared, to improve this key step. We developed a pipeline of assays to select the most efficient nanoparticles and administration protocols before preclinical assays: (i) molecular analyses of complexes formed with Dbait molecules, (ii) cellular tests for Dbait uptake and activity, (iii) live zebrafish embryo confocal microscopy monitoring for in vivo distribution and biological activity of the nanoparticles and (iv) tumor growth and survival measurement on mice with xenografted tumors. Two classes of nanoparticles were compared, polycationic polymers with linear or branched polyethylenimine (PEI) and covalently attached cholesterol (coDbait). The most efficient Dbait transfection was observed with linear PEI complexes, in vitro and in vivo. Doses of coDbait ten-fold higher than PEI/Dbait nanoparticles, and pretreatment with chloroquine, were required to obtain the same antitumoral effect on xenografted melanoma. However, with a 22-fold lower 'efficacy dose/toxicity dose' ratio as compared with Dbait/PEI, coDbait was selected for clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Abstract: Objective: The aim of the study was to estimate the prescription and administration of antibioprophylaxis for hip and knee replacement in Aquitaine (SouthWestern France). Methods: In 2003, “Social Security” medical experts performed a descriptive and retrospective study on a sample of scheduled surgical operations in all the Aquitaine public and private hospitals. Antibioprophylaxis, protocols, and practice were assessed by studying the patients'' medical files. The analysis was made on adjusted numbers to take into account the size of every institution. Results: In 51 hospitals, 58.8% of antibioprophylaxis protocols followed French guidelines. The sample corresponded to an adjusted number of 9,651 patients. Antibiopropylaxis was prescribed for 99.3% of patients, the course of antibioprophylaxis followed guidelines for 77.4% of the patients, the choice of the molecule and the dosage in 85.4% of the cases. Interval between antibiotic injection and surgical section was the main criterion of nonconformity (56.3%); it was under30 minutes for 43.7% of cephalosporin injections. In the post-operative period, administration complied with the medical prescription for 76.4% of the patients and dosage was adapted for 60.0% of the patients. According to the studied variables, 3 to 23.5% of data was missing in the medical files. Conclusion: If the quality of care and practice must be improved, it is mandatory to implement written and confirmed antibioprophylaxis protocols, to better document medical files, to insure an improved coordination among professionals before, during, and after surgery. [Copyright &y& Elsevier] more...

The so-called Faster is Slower (FIS) effect is observed in some particular real-life or experimental situations. In the context of an evacuation process, it expresses that increasing the speed (or, more generally, the competitiveness) of individuals may induce a reduction of the flow through the exit door. We propose here a parameter-free model to reproduce and investigate this effect (more precisely its backward "Slower is Faster" equivalent). In spite of its non-smooth character, which makes it difficult to analyze, this granular approach is based on very basic ingredients in terms of behavior. In its native, purely asocial version, individuals are represented by hard-discs, each of which has a desired velocity, and the actual velocity is built as the projection of this field on the set of admissible velocities (which respect the non-overlapping constraints). We implement the slower effect by introducing here an extra step to account for the fact that individuals refrain from pushing, and therefore tend to reduce their desired velocity accounting for the velocities of people upfront. The present paper has two objectives: establish the relevance of this model by showing that it satisfactorily reproduces various empirical effects in highly crowded evacuations with various levels of competitiveness, and explore how it can be implemented to recover and explain the FIS effect. In this spirit, we confront this Inhibition-Based (IB) model to experimental data, focusing on the Faster is Slower effect. We show in particular that this approach makes it possible to accurately recover the effect of competitiveness upon power-law distributions of time lapses which have been experimentally observed. We also study the effect of mixed behaviors, by introducing a two-population model using both approaches. We investigate in particular the effect upon evacuation efficiency of the ratio between competitive agents and non-competitive ones. In a similar context, we investigate the role of an obstacle placed upstream the exit upon evacuation efficiency. • Numerical investigation of the Faster is Slower effect based on a parameter free model. • Integration of an inhibition tendency of polite pedestrians. • Numerical evidence of the fluidizing role of an obstacle upstream the exit during evacuation. • Numerical recovering of an experimental power law for time lapses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

We present two-dimensional simulations of chemotactic self-propelled bacteria swimming in a viscous fluid. Self-propulsion is modelled by a couple of forces of same intensity and opposite direction applied on the rigid bacterial body and on an associated region in the fluid representing the flagellar bundle. The method for solving the fluid flow and the motion of the bacteria is based on a variational formulation written on the whole domain, strongly coupling the fluid and the rigid particle problems: rigid motion is enforced by penalizing the strain rate tensor on the rigid domain, while incompressibility is treated by duality. This model allows to achieve an accurate description of fluid motion and hydrodynamic interactions in moderate to concentrated active suspensions. A mesoscopic model is also used, in which the size of the bacteria is supposed to be much smaller than the elements of fluid: the perturbation of the fluid due to propulsion and motion of the swimmers is neglected, and the fluid is only subjected to the buoyant forcing induced by the presence of the bacteria, which are denser than the fluid. Although this model does not accurately take into account hydrodynamic interactions, it is able to reproduce complex collective dynamics observed in concentrated bacterial suspensions, such as bioconvection. From a mathematical point of view, both models lead to a minimization problem which is solved with a standard Finite Element Method. In order to ensure robustness, a projection algorithm is used to deal with contacts between particles. We also reproduce chemotactic behaviour driven by oxygen: an advection-diffusion equation on the oxygen concentration is solved in the fluid domain, with a source term accounting for oxygen consumption by the bacteria. The orientations of the individual bacteria are subjected to random changes, with a frequency that depends on the surrounding oxygen concentration, in order to favor the direction of the concentration gradient. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] more...

Shock wave/turbulent boundary-layer interaction and flow separation may induce self-sustained large-scale oscillations on a profile at transonic Mach number. This phenomenon, known as transonic buffet, is at the origin of intense pressure fluctuations which can have detrimental effects, both in external and internal aerodynamics. The present paper describes a new experiment executed in the ONERA S3Ch transonic wind tunnel on shock oscillations over the OATI5A supercritical profile. These experiments have allowed the precise definition of the conditions for buffet onset and the characterization of the properties of the periodic motion from unsteady surface pressure measurements. The flowfield behavior has been described in great detail thanks to high-speed schlieren cinematography and surveys with a two-component laser Doppler velocimetry along with a conditional sampling technique. The first aim of this study was to provide the computational fluid dynamics community with well-documented test cases to validate advanced computing methods. Concerning the physics of the phenomenon, it is suggested that it is mediated by acoustic waves which are produced at the trailing edge and which travel on the two sides of the airfoil. Also, the experimental results strongly suggest that the phenomenon is essentially two-dimensional, even if three-dimensional effects are also detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed whether aggregate-level measures of socioeconomic status (SES) are less biased as proxies for individual-level measures if the unit of geographic aggregation is small in size and population. METHODS: National Health Interview Survey and census data were used to replicate analyses that identified the degree to which aggregate proxies of individual SES bias interpretations of the effects of SES on health. RESULTS: Ordinary least squares regressions on self-perceived health showed that the coefficients for income and education measured at the tract and block group levels were larger than those at the individual level but smaller than those estimated by Geronimus et al. at the zip code level. CONCLUSIONS: Researchers should be cautious about use of proxy measurement of individual SES even if proxies are calculated from small geographic units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...