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In regular binary eutectic alloys, the shape of two-phase solidification microstructures varies between neighboring eutectic grains. This occurs in particular in alloys that present special orientation relationships (ORs) between the two kinds of crystals. In practice, eutectic grains most often present spatial variations of the crystal orientation of a few degrees. The consequences of this “mosaicity” on the growth dynamics are not clear. We present the first steps of a numerical investigation (boundary-integral method) of the dynamics of the so-called locked-lamellar patterns in the presence of a mosaicity. Realistic alloy parameters were used. We simulated a few pairs of lamellae (periodic boundary conditions) with a smoothly modulated anisotropy of the interphase boundaries in the solid. The pattern evolves then toward a steady-state regime with a uniform lamellar tilt angle, but a spatial modulation of the lamella width.

Distal vessel occlusions represent about 25-40% of acute ischemic stroke (AIS), either as primary occlusion or secondary occlusion complicating mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for large vessel occlusion.

La histeroscopia diagnóstica es un estudio no invasivo esencial para la exploración de patologías intrauterinas. Sus principales indicaciones son: sospecha de una lesión intracavitaria, investigación de una hemorragia uterina anormal, engrosamiento del endometrio, infertilidad, malformación uterina, abortos recurrentes, trastornos del ciclo menstrual y extracción de un cuerpo extraño intrauterino (dispositivo intrauterino inaccesible por vía vaginal). Puede llevarse a cabo sin anestesia en el quirófano o, en el mejor de los casos, en la consulta, con una mayor satisfacción de las pacientes en este contexto. Antes de esta exploración debe excluirse la presencia de un embarazo o de una infección intrauterina. En las mujeres en edad fértil con un ciclo menstrual regular, lo ideal es programar la histeroscopia durante la fase folicular después de la menstruación. La maduración cervical no es necesaria antes de la histeroscopia. Se prefiere un histeroscopio rígido en lugar de un histeroscopio flexible. El medio de distensión recomendado es la solución salina. Las complicaciones relacionadas con la histeroscopia son muy infrecuentes y suelen ser benignas. Junto con esta exploración se puede hacer una biopsia endometrial.

This paper presents a new design of CADEL, a cable-driven elbow-assisting device, with light weighting and control improvements. The new device design is appropriate to be more portable and user-oriented solution, presenting additional facilities with respect to the original design. One of potential benefits of improved portability can be envisaged in the possibility of house and hospital usage keeping social distancing while allowing rehabilitation treatments even during a pandemic spread. Specific attention has been devoted to design main mechatronic components by developing specific kinematics models. The design process includes an implementation of specific control hardware and software. The kinematic model of the new design is formulated and features are evaluated through numerical simulations and experimental tests. An evaluation from original design highlights the proposed improvements mainly in terms of comfort, portability and user-oriented operation.

The term Sneddon's syndrome (SS) has been used since 1965 to describe a vasculopathy characterized by a combination of cerebrovascular disease with livedo racemosa. SS may be classified as antiphospholipid+ (aPL+) or antiphospholipid− (aPL−). Little is known about aPL− SS; in this review we describe the epidemiology and pathogenesis of aPL− SS, as well as the clinical and histologic features. We discuss recent findings in terms of neurologic and cardiac involvement. Moreover, differential diagnoses of conditions that may present with both livedo racemosa and stroke are discussed. Finally, we discuss real-life practical issues such as the initial investigations to be performed, long-term follow-up, and therapeutic management of aPL− SS patients.

In the last years, collaborative human-robot applications have become more and more appealing thanks to the robot’s easiness of programming and the promise of increasing precision and safety. However, by combining two resources (the cobot and the human operator) there is a problem of safety since cobot and human operator have to work in the same workspace. To ensure human safety, the distance between robot and operator must be assessed and the robot must adapt accordingly either by reducing its velocity or by modifying its trajectory. In this paper, we propose a new online method to adapt the trajectory of the robot to the human movements using a single depth camera. This algorithm eliminates the robot from the scene using a simple calibration process. Then, it interpolates the shared workspace, captured by the depth camera, using Radial Basis Functions (RBFs). The result is a continuous function that is representative of the risk of collision with obstacles on the plane. Its gradient is used as a repulsive potential in the Artificial Potential Field (APF) method to generate the path. This method eliminates the need to calculate the distance between operator and robot since it is intrinsically considered in the potentials. Results shows the validity of the method.

Collaborative robots improve the traditional production systems, both automatic and manual, by allowing the resources to share the workspace. However, the shared workspace is both the greatest advantage and limit of collaborative robots. Indeed, interference between the human operator and the cobot may result in an emergency stop, reducing the performance of the system. Hence, a collision avoidance strategy is required to avoid collision; however, this may affect the performance of the system. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate how the shared workspace affects the system performance, and the effects of the adoption of a collision avoidance strategy. To this regard, a collision avoidance strategy has been developed and it is presented in this work and an experimental validation proved the efficacy of the proposed strategy. Lastly, simulation tests were carried out to analyse the performance of the system for different sizes of the collaboration area with respect to the workspace. The results shows that, while the increase in the collaboration area reduces the performance of the system, collision avoidance strategies mitigate this effect.

Excitation energy and charge transfer processes in perylene diimide dye–CdSe quantum dot complexes have been studied by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. After excitation of the quantum dots high above the band edge, the electronically excited perylene diimide forms on a timescale similar to the ultrafast quantum dot intraband relaxation. An extraordinarily fast energy transfer time of <300 fs is determined, indicating that the transfer from the hot excitonic state competes with quantum dot intraband relaxation. A much slower kinetic component is attributed to the energy transfer from the quantum dot’s lowest excitonic state to perylene diimide. At high dye–quantum dot ratios, the electronically excited dye generated in the energy transfer reaction is reduced by an electron transfer from the quantum dot ground state. This study demonstrates the potential of the investigated organic–inorganic hybrid for the design of tailor-made energy transfer systems, which can be applied in the emerging field of hot exciton utilization.

Under-actuated robots are very interesting in terms of cost and weight since they can result in a state-controllable system with a number of actuators lower than the number of joints. In this paper, a comparison between an under-actuated planar 3 degrees of freedom (DOF) robot and a comparable fully-actuated 2 degrees of freedom robot is presented, mainly focusing on the performances in terms of trajectories, actuator torques, and vibrations. The under-actuated system is composed of 2 active rotational joints followed by a passive rotational joint equipped with a torsional spring. The fully-actuated robot is inertial equivalent to the under-actuated manipulator: the last link is equal to the sum of the last two links of the under-actuated system. Due to the conditions on the inertia distribution and spring placement, in a simple point-to-point movement the last passive joint starts and ends in a zero-value configuration, so the 3 DOF robot is equivalent, in terms of initial and final configuration, to the 2 DOF fully-actuated robot, thus they can be compared. Results show how while the fully actuated robot is better in terms of reliable trajectory and actuator torques, the under-actuated robot wins in flexibility and vibration behavior.

Introduction and Objectives. Analysis of cancer biomarkers is an important tool in developing targeted-therapy and in modulating chemoresistance. Here, we analyze the relevance of CD90, a marker of cancer stem cells (CSC) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its correlation with autophagy. Materials and Methods. For in vivostudy, 86 specimens were collected from 43 patients undergoing liver resections. In each patient, HCC nodule (HCC) and surrounding non-tumor (SNT) were collected. For in vitrostudy, HCC cells JHH6 subpopulations expressing CD90+ and CD90- were isolated using magnetic-sorter and confirmed by flow-cytometry. Upon doxorubicin treatment, autophagy turn-over was analyzed by RTqPCR for mRNA expression, Western blot for protein expression, and autophagosome staining for autophagy-flux. Cytotoxicity test was performed by MTT assay. Gene and protein analysis were performed in clinical samples together with immunohistostaining. Results. CD90 mRNA expression was higher in HCC than in SNT for 8-fold (p < 0.001). LC3-II protein was up-regulated in the HCC in comparison with the SNT (p < 0.05). In vitromodel showed that CD90+ and CD90- cells had diverse expressions of autophagy-related genes. Upon doxorubicin treatment, autophagy was activated in both cells by increasing LC3-II protein expression, autophagic vacuoles, and dysregulation of autophagy-related mRNAs. A differential autophagic capacity was noticed between two subpopulations and it was correlated with cellular toxicity assay. Conclusions. We demonstrated the relevance of differential autophagy capacity of CD90+ cells in HCC. Autophagy was involved in cancer-defense mechanism against doxorubicin. Cancer promoting function of autophagy in CD90+ cells was also related to cancer environment.

Background/Objectives: While daily hydration is best assessed in 24-h urine sample, spot sample is often used by health care professionals and researchers due to its practicality. However, urine output is subject to circadian variation, with urine being more concentrated in the morning. It has been demonstrated that afternoon spot urine samples are most likely to provide equivalent urine concentration to 24-h urine samples in adults. The aim of the present study was to examine whether urine osmolality (UOsm) assessed from a spot urine sample in specific time-windows was equivalent to 24-h UOsm in free-living healthy children. Subjects/Methods: Among 541 healthy children (age: 3–13 years, female: 45%, 77% non-Hispanic white, BMI:17.7 ± 4.0 kg m−2), UOsm at specific time-windows [morning (0600–1159), early afternoon (1200–1559), late afternoon (1600–1959), evening (2000–2359), overnight (2400–0559), and first morning] was compared with UOsm from the corresponding pooled 24-h urine sample using an equivalence test. Results: Late afternoon (1600–1959) spot urine sample UOsm value was equivalent to the 24-h UOsm value in children (P&lt; 0.05; mean difference: 62 mmol kg−1; 95% CI: 45–78 mmol kg−1). The overall diagnostic ability of urine osmolality assessed at late afternoon (1600–1959) to diagnose elevated urine osmolality on the 24-h sample was good for both cutoffs of 800 mmol kg−1[area under the curve (AUC): 87.4%; sensitivity: 72.6%; specificity: 90.5%; threshold: 814 mmol kg−1] and 500 mmol kg−1(AUC: 83.5%; sensitivity: 75.0%; specificity: 80.0%; threshold: 633 mmol kg−1). Conclusion: These data suggest that in free-living healthy children, 24-h urine concentration may be approximated from a late afternoon spot urine sample. This data will have practical implication for health care professionals and researchers.

The number of fungal infections has increased in recent years in Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil. Epidemiological studies are important for proper control of infections.

Children consume various fluids to meet dietary water intake needs. However, the contribution of different fluid types on hydration is unclear. The purpose of this study was to develop fluid intake patterns and examine their association with hydration, as indicated by 24-h urine osmolality. Two hundred ten (105 girls) healthy children (height: 1.49 ± 0.13 m, weight: 43.4 ± 12.6 kg, body fat: 25.2 ± 7.8%) recorded their fluid intake for two consecutive days, and collected their urine for 24-h during the 2nd day, while conducting their normal daily activities. Urine samples were analyzed for specific gravity and osmolality. Factor analysis with principal components method was applied to extract dietary patterns from six fluid groups. Linear regression analysis evaluated the associations between the extracted dietary patterns and hydration based on 24-h urine osmolality. The analysis revealed the following six components: 1, characterized by consumption of milk and fresh juice, but not packaged juice; 2, by regular soda and other drinks, but not water; 3, by fresh juice and other drinks; 4, by packaged juice, but not regular soda; 5, by water and milk; and 6, by fresh juice. Component 5 was negatively correlated with urine osmolality (P= 0.001) indicating better hydration, whereas component 2 was positively correlated with urine osmolality (P= 0.001). A drinking pattern based on water and milk was associated with better hydration, as indicated by lower urine osmolality, whereas drinking regular soda and other drinks but not water was associated with inferior hydration.

The extensive study and development of additive manufacturing technologies have allowed not only increased customization of the final parts but especially of their complexity. From such perspectives, intricate and mechanically efficient lattices which maximize their strength-to-weight ratio could be printed. Nevertheless, the fabrication of regular lattices, like octet cells, has been proven to be particularly limited by the layer-by-layer construction process due to the introduction of additional interfaces and/or the requirement of supports. In this work, a hybrid extrusion–photopolymerization process is coupled with a 6-axis robotic arm to allow for the fabrication of layers-less lattices thanks to the use of a custom graphical user interface and control over the printing head orientation. A highly reactive resin is employed as the ink and loaded with silica particles in order to tailor its rheological properties. A good resemblance between the printed components and the digital model is achieved, while their mechanical properties are superior to the ones of the traditionally additive manufactured octets.

The authors report the case of a patient presenting with severe vision loss, suspected to be a paraneoplastic syndrome secondary to a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Imaging could not explain the visual symptoms but full flash electroretinography revealed a cone rod dysfunction. Immunologic examination implicated a form of lymphoma-associated retinopathy (LAR).

FeFe hydrogenases are the most efficient H2-producing enzymes. However, inactivation by O2remains an obstacle that prevents them being used in many biotechnological devices. Here, we combine electrochemistry, site-directed mutagenesis, molecular dynamics and quantum chemical calculations to uncover the molecular mechanism of O2diffusion within the enzyme and its reactions at the active site. We propose that the partial reversibility of the reaction with O2results from the four-electron reduction of O2to water. The third electron/proton transfer step is the bottleneck for water production, competing with formation of a highly reactive OH radical and hydroxylated cysteine. The rapid delivery of electrons and protons to the active site is therefore crucial to prevent the accumulation of these aggressive species during prolonged O2exposure. These findings should provide important clues for the design of hydrogenase mutants with increased resistance to oxidative damage.

Le syndrome de platypnée-orthodéoxie (SPO) associe la présence d’une dyspnée (platypnée) et d’une désaturation (orthodéoxie) à l’orthostatisme alors qu’elles sont absentes au décubitus. Le SPO est le plus souvent dû à un shunt intracardiaque tel qu’un foramen ovale perméable (FOP), auquel s’ajoute un facteur favorisant fonctionnel. Il survient chez des patients de plus de 50ans. Son diagnostic est simple et repose sur la mesure de la saturation en décubitus et à l’orthostatisme et sur la mise en évidence des facteurs favorisants par la réalisation d’une échocardiographie. Le traitement recommandé est la fermeture du FOP lorsqu’il est présent. Nous présentons le cas d’un patient ayant présenté un infarctus cérébral sur embolie paradoxale au travers d’un FOP responsable d’un SPO.

Background/Objectives:Urinary biomarkers of hydration (urine osmolality, UOsm; urine specific gravity, USG) follow circadian variations. For individuals, researchers and health-care professionals, there is value in identifying time frames during which spot values of UOsmand USGare representative of 24-h values in healthy young adults.Subjects/Methods:Eighty-two free-living adults (22.3±2.9 years, 22.2±1.5 kg/m2) collected individual urine voids over a 24-h period. UOsmand USGwere measured on each void and on the pooled 24-h sample. To determine the time of day when a spot sample was likely to be equivalent to the 24-h value, daytime voids were binned by time and equivalence was tested for each 2-h window. Equivalence was a priori defined as being within 100 mOsm/kg (UOsm) and within 0.003 units (USG) of 24-h values.Results:For both UOsmand USG, voids between 1400 and 2000 hours produced values that were equivalent to the 24-h sample, whereas earlier voids tended to overestimate 24-h UOsmand USG. For windows 1401–1600 hours, 1601–1800 hours and 1801–2000 hours, the mean difference (95% confidence interval) between spot and 24-h UOsm(mOsm/kg) was −25 (−72; 22), 28 (−35; 92) and 12 (−41; 66), respectively, whereas for USGthe difference was 0.0014 (−0.0028; −0.0001), 0.0001 (−0.0017; 0.0019) and 0.0005 (−0.0018; 0.0009), respectively.Conclusions:In free-living healthy French adults, 24-h urine concentration can be approximated from a mid- to late-afternoon spot urine sample. This finding suggests that an afternoon sample may be an accurate and practical tool for hydration monitoring, useful to individuals and health-care practitioners.

La frecuencia del estrabismo infantil es del 5%. El estudio de los reflejos corneales y las pruebas de oclusión son las exploraciones clave para el diagnóstico. En la mayoría de los casos, la esotropía es precoz o adquirida (de acomodación). El cerebro del recién nacido es muy plástico y vulnerable, y el estrabismo puede provocar una ambliopía (disminución de la agudeza visual del ojo no fijador). Es necesario determinar la refracción con cicloplejía para determinar el error refractivo. La prescripción de lentes correctoras es la primera etapa del tratamiento y el estrabismo debe ser alternante para prevenir la ambliopía.

La thrombectomie mécanique a montré son efficacité dans la prise en charge des patients victimes d'un accident vasculaire cérébral (AVC) secondaire à une occlusion artérielle proximale (1). Néanmoins, chez 12-34% des patients traités, la revascularisation est insatisfaisante (TICI < 2b) en fin de procédure (2), avec 40% des cas sans aucune modification de la configuration de l'occlusion (3). Le stenting intracranien est une option intéressante pour ces occlusions réfractaires (4), mais présente des contraintes liées au risque hémorragique dans un contexte ischémique aigu pouvant être majoré par la mise en place d'antithrombotiques pour prévenir la thrombose intrastent. L'objectif de cette étude était d’évaluer le rôle du stenting intracrânien dans la prise en charge des patients pris en charge pour une occlusion artérielle proximale réfractaire, en analysant l'issue clinico-radiologique des patients stentés appariés à une population n'ayant pas bénéficié de stenting.

Nous rappelons quelques résultats expérimentaux récents concernant la dynamique des fronts eutectiques lamellaires en solidification directionnelle d'échantillons minces. Ces résultats ont permis à la fois de répondre à des questions théoriques relevant de la phénoménologie des fronts de propagation unidimensionnels (1D) et de résoudre quelques problèmes métallurgiques. Nous nous proposons d'aborder maintenant la dynamique des fronts de solidification eutectique lamellaire en échantillons massifs (fronts 2D). Nous esquissons un tableau des phénomènes nouveaux que nous nous attendons à observer dans de tels échantillons.

The number of new cases of emerging fungal infections has increased considerably in recent years, mainly due to the large number of immunocompromised individuals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the susceptibility of emerging fungi to fluconazole, itraconazole and amphotericin B by disk diffusion method. In 2015, 82 emerging fungi were evaluated in IPB-LACEN/RS and 13 (15.8%) were resistant: 10/52 were from superficial mycoses and 3/30 from systemic mycoses. The data from the study point to the need for permanent vigilance regarding the careful evaluation in the prescription and clinical and laboratory follow-up of patients affected by fungal infections.

We studied the formation and growth of locked-lamellar microstructures in a thin sample of a slightly hypoeutectic Al-Al2Cu alloy. The coupled-growth dynamics, including early stages and steady-state regimes, was observed optically in real time during directional solidification. The orientation of the α (Al) and θ (Al2Cu) crystals was measured ex situ in a series of eutectic grains by X-ray Laue microdiffraction. A nucleation event of a θ crystal on a pre-existing α crystal, and the subsequent growth of a eutectic grain with a type-C orientation relationship, that is, with a coincidence of {123}-α and {100}-θ planes, were observed in situ. In type-C eutectic grains, lamellar locking occurred parallel to the low-energy coincidence plane. A regular (floating) coupled-growth dynamics was observed in misoriented eutectic grains.

We present an in-situ experimental investigation of irregular eutectic growth dynamics observed optically in real time during directional solidification (DS) and rotating directional solidification (RDS) of a model transparent alloy, namely Amino-methyl-propanediol-Succinonitrile (AMPD-SCN). The SCN-rich solid grows with a nonfaceted solid-liquid interface, while AMPD forms thin whisker-like faceted crystals. With RDS, we observed simultaneously four distinct growth dynamics along the solidification front thanks to the rotation induced velocity ramp. At low velocity, AMPD crystals grow individually, with their leading tip ahead of – at a higher temperature than – the SCN-liquid interface which presents a linear undercooling change with V ramp. This regime is defined as a quasi-steady decoupled growth. During RDS, AMPD crystals are found to rotate with the sample in this regime. When they can reach the unsteady coupled-growth regime at higher V, since increasing V favors the formation of AMPD-SCN-liquid trijunctions, they start to branch noncrystallographically. At higher velocity, impurity effects lead to the formation of two-phase fingers. Further increase in the velocity results in the formation of primary SCN dendrites and a fine interdendritic eutectic microstructure. DS experiments confirmed the existence of those regimes at different velocities.

•Intracranial aneurysms are diagnosed in up to 9% of patients with sickle cell anemia, while consensual approaches to treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms in this population are still lacking.•A standardized hematological preparation protocol was undertaken before each aneurysm treatment.•Overall, endovascular and surgical treatment seems safe and effective: successful treatment was documented in 95% of aneurysms, while all 6 post-procedural complications were transitory or reversible, without residual deficits at one-year follow-up.•We suggest using stenting as a last therapeutic resort due to the potential high rate of ischemic complications in this population.

Growing evidence suggests a distinction between water intake necessary for maintaining a euhydrated state, and water intake considered to be adequate from a perspective of long-term health. Previously, we have proposed that maintaining a 24-h urine osmolality (UOsm) of ⩽500 mOsm/kg is a desirable target for urine concentration to ensure sufficient urinary output to reduce renal health risk and circulating vasopressin. In clinical practice and field monitoring, the measurement of UOsmis not practical. In this analysis, we calculate criterion values for urine-specific gravity (USG) and urine color (UCol), two measures which have broad applicability in clinical and field settings. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis performed on 817 urine samples demonstrates that a USG⩾1.013 detects UOsm>500 mOsm/kg with very high accuracy (AUC 0.984), whereas a subject-assessed UCol⩾4 offers high sensitivity and moderate specificity (AUC 0.831) for detecting UOsm>500 m Osm/kg.

Distal vessel occlusions represent about 25 % to 40 % of acute ischemic stroke (AIS), either as primary occlusion or secondary occlusion complicating mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for large vessel occlusion. However, the benefit of MT remains uncertain for these occlusions.

Owing to the high complexity of diatom community data, there is a special need for methods accounting for complex non-linear gradients. A Kohonen's self-organizing map (SOM) is a neural network with unsupervised learning. It allows both unbiased classification of the communities and visualization of biological gradients on a two-dimensional plane. However, as with other neural networks, many parameters must be set. A new R-package with a SOM parameterization specifically suited to diatom communities has been developed. Further developments will consist of creating a graphical user interface in order to make this method easier to use for the scientific community.

Abstract: Background: Zenker’s diverticulum (ZD) may be treated with a variety of endoscopic or open surgical techniques; the choice of treatment depends partly on the size of the diverticulum. The purpose of this study was to correlate ZD measurements obtained preoperatively and during surgery. Methods: From March 2006 to November 2008, 20 consecutive patients (19 males; median age 64.5 (range 37–88) years) with dysphagia secondary to ZD were enrolled for this study. All patients had preoperative barium radiography of the pharynx and esophagus, and diagnostic endoscopy. Ten patients underwent transoral stapling diverticulostomy and ten had open surgery. The depth of the ZD was measured on radiographic views, at endoscopy and during surgery, focusing on the distance from the top of the septum to the bottom of the pouch. The ZD dimensions obtained radiologically and endoscopically were compared with those found during surgery. Correlations and agreements between measurements were assessed using Pearson’s correlation coefficients and method-comparison analysis, respectively. Results: The median depth of the ZD was 2.9 cm (mean 2.95 ± 1.12 cm; range 1.5–6 cm), 3.0 cm (mean 3.24 ± 1.27 cm; range 1.7–6.8 cm), and 3.0 cm (mean 2.99 ± 1.01 cm; range 1.5–6 cm) when measured during surgery, radiology, and endoscopy, respectively. The correlation and agreement between the radiographic and surgical ZD measurements were good, whereas those between the endoscopic and surgical measurements were poor. Conclusions: These findings confirm that preoperative barium radiography is mandatory in order to choose the most appropriate surgical treatment for ZD.

Zielsetzung:Ziel der vorliegenden Untersuchung war es, das Auftreten von Persönlichkeitsstörungen bei jugendlichen Patientinnen mit Anorexia (AN) und Bulimia nervosa (BN) anhand des Strukturierten Klinischen Interviews für DSM-IV (SKID-II) zu überprüfen. Methodik:99 konsekutiv erfasste Patientinnen (MAlter= 16.3 ± 1.6) wurden mittels SKID-II im Hinblick auf PS untersucht. Des Weiteren wurde der Einfluss von Alter, Achse-I-Komorbiditäten und Behandlungsart auf die Ausbildung einer PS getestet. Ergebnisse:30.3 % der untersuchten Patientinnen erhielten nach SKID-II die Diagnose einer Persönlichkeitsstörung (PS). Patientinnen mit einer AN-binge-purging Typus wiesen gegenüber den beiden anderen Essstörungsgruppen eine höhere Prävalenzrate bezüglich Persönlichkeitsstörungen und ebenso höhere Werte der dimensionalen Scores auf. Zudem zeigen unsere Ergebnisse, dass Alter und Achse-I-Komorbiditäten mit der Entwicklung von Persönlichkeitsstörungen assoziiert sind. Schlussfolgerung:Zwischen den drei Essstörungsgruppen bestehen deutliche Unterschiede hinsichtlich des Auftretens von Persönlichkeitsstörungen. Patientinnen mit einer AN-binge-purging Typus sind stärker betroffen als Patientinnen mit einer BN oder restriktiven AN. Dies und ebenso der Einfluss von Alter und Achse-I-Komorbiditäten sollten bei der Therapie von Essstörungspatientinnen berücksichtigt werden.

The financial profiles of Smaller Manufacturing Enterprises (SMEs) are examined in this paper. The primary purpose of the paper is to better understand the innovation process and improve the immediate and future product offerings by the SMEs to compete more effectively in the marketplace. The study results indicate that the SMEs do not have the adequate financial experience and resources for commercialising their products and that they need more detailed financial planning starting at the earliest stage of the premarket period.

ABSTRACTChitin is an essential component of fungal cell walls, where it forms a crystalline scaffold, and chitooligosaccharides derived from it are signaling molecules recognized by the hosts of pathogenic fungi. Oomycetes are cellulosic fungus-like microorganisms which most often lack chitin in their cell walls. Here we present the first study of the cell wall of the oomycete Aphanomyces euteiches, a major parasite of legume plants. Biochemical analyses demonstrated the presence of ca. 10% N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (GlcNAc) in the cell wall. Further characterization of the GlcNAc-containing material revealed that it corresponds to noncrystalline chitosaccharides associated with glucans, rather than to chitin per se. Two putative chitin synthase (CHS) genes were identified by data mining of an A. euteichesexpressed sequence tag collection and Southern blot analysis, and full-length cDNA sequences of both genes were obtained. Phylogeny analysis indicated that oomycete CHS diversification occurred before the divergence of the major oomycete lineages. Remarkably, lectin labeling showed that the Aphanomyces euteicheschitosaccharides are exposed at the cell wall surface, and study of the effect of the CHS inhibitor nikkomycin Z demonstrated that they are involved in cell wall function. These data open new perspectives for the development of antioomycete drugs and further studies of the molecular mechanisms involved in the recognition of pathogenic oomycetes by the host plants.

Chitin is an essential component of fungal cell walls, where it forms a crystalline scaffold, and chitooligosaccharides derived from it are signaling molecules recognized by the hosts of pathogenic fungi. Oomycetes are cellulosic fungus-like microorganisms which most often lack chitin in their cell walls. Here we present the first study of the cell wall of the oomycete Aphanomyces euteiches, a major parasite of legume plants. Biochemical analyses demonstrated the presence of ca. 10% N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) in the cell wall. Further characterization of the GlcNAc-containing material revealed that it corresponds to noncrystalline chitosaccharides associated with glucans, rather than to chitin per se. Two putative chitin synthase (CHS) genes were identified by data mining of an A. euteiches expressed sequence tag collection and Southern blot analysis, and full-length cDNA sequences of both genes were obtained. Phylogeny analysis indicated that oomycete CHS diversification occurred before the divergence of the major oomycete lineages. Remarkably, lectin labeling showed that the Aphanomyces euteiches chitosaccharides are exposed at the cell wall surface, and study of the effect of the CHS inhibitor nikkomycin Z demonstrated that they are involved in cell wall function. These data open new perspectives for the development of antioomycete drugs and further studies of the molecular mechanisms involved in the recognition of pathogenic oomycetes by the host plants.

AbstractThe successful restoration of plant species in the wild depends on knowledge of the species' habitat requirements and genetic, demographic, and ecological traits that may increase vulnerability to stochastic extinction processes. A few studies have reported experimental projects that attempted to re-establish populations of endangered plants; however, their experimental designs often led to ambiguous results. This paper reviews the common practices in plant restoration and re-establishment programs and reports on an experiment that we performed on an endangered plant Arenaria grandiflora) in the Parisian region. Our aim is to provide advice on how a restoration experiment should be conducted in order to maximize its success.

Peptide aptamers are combinatorial proteins that specifically bind intracellular proteins and modulate their function. They are powerful tools to study protein function within complex regulatory networks and to guide small-molecule drug discovery. Here we describe methodological improvements that enhance the yeast two-hybrid selection and characterization of large collections of peptide aptamers. We provide a detailed protocol to perform high-efficiency transformation of peptide aptamer libraries, in-depth validation experiments of the bait proteins, high-efficiency mating to screen large numbers of peptide aptamers and streamlined confirmation of the positive clones. We also describe yeast two-hybrid mating assays, which can be used to determine the specificity of the selected aptamers, map their binding sites on target proteins and provide structural insights on their target-binding surface. Overall, 12 weeks are required to perform the protocols. The improvements on the yeast two-hybrid method can be also usefully applied to the screening of cDNA libraries to identify protein interactions.

Road paving workers are exposed to bitumen fumes (CAS No. 8052-42-4), a complex mixture of volatile compounds and particles containing carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. However, epidemiological and experimental animal studies failed to draw unambiguous conclusions concerning their toxicity. In order to gain better insights on their genotoxic potential, we used an experimental design able to generate bitumen fumes at road paving temperature (temperature: 170°C, total particulate matter: 100mg/m3) and perform a nose-only exposure of Big Blue® transgenic rodents 6h/day for five consecutive days. The mutagenic properties of bitumen fumes were determined by analyzing the mutation frequency and spectrum of the neutral reporter gene cII inserted into the rodent genome. We previously observed in mouse lung, that bitumen fumes did not induce an increase of cII mutants, a modification of the mutation spectrum, nor the formation of DNA adducts. Since DNA adducts were found in the lungs of rats exposed to asphalt fumes in similar conditions, we decided to carry out an analogous experiment with Big Blue® rats. A DNA adduct was detected 3 and 30 days after the end of treatment suggesting that these genetic alterations were quite steady. Thirty days after exposure, the cII mutant frequency was similar in control and exposed rats. In addition, a slight but not significant modification of the mutation spectrum associated with an increase of G:C to T:A and A:T to C:G transversions was noticeable in the treated animals. Then, these data failed to demonstrate a pulmonary mutagenic potential for bitumen fumes generated at road paving temperature in our experimental conditions despite the presence of a DNA adduct. These results may provide information concerning the pulmonary mechanism of action of this aerosol and may contribute to the occupational health hazard assessment.

We report a case of aspiration admitted to our rehabilitation unit in a patient with dysphagia due to diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis or Forestier’s disease of the cervical spine, in whom an episode of pneumonia had occurred. Clinical and instrumental findings, including radiography of the spine, (CT Scan) and videofluoroscopy, confirmed the diagnosis. The dysphagia was hypothesized to be due to mechanical compression and inflammatory changes, accompanied by fibrosis in the esophagus wall. The aspiration pneumonia probably had multifactorial etiology: dysphagia, abnormal cough reflex, colonization of the oropharynx by virulent bacteria, etc. No aspiration pneumonia occurred after medical treatment and rehabilitation had been started. We review the medical literature on this unusual cause of aspiration pneumonia.

Most recent investigations concerning the toxicological and ecotoxicological risk potentials of ionic liquids are predominantly focusing on the cation moieties. In this study we elucidate, whether the anion species commonly used in ionic liquids are exhibiting intrinsic cytotoxic effects and if these effects can be rationalised by thinking in terms of structure–activity relationships (T-SAR). As test system to measure the cell viability as toxicologically relevant endpoint the IPC-81 rat leukemia cell line and the WST-1 assay were employed. Our results show an anion effect in ionic liquids on cytotoxicity for 10 of 27 tested anions. For the remaining 17 anions from our test kit no significant effect was found. With respect to structure–activity relationships, lipophilicity and/or vulnerability to hydrolytic cleavage seem to be the key structural features leading to the observed anion cytotoxicity. We also conclude that the model of concentration addition may be useful to estimate the EC50values of ionic liquids that have not been tested or even synthesised yet. This can help to design not only task specific but also inherently safer ionic liquids.

Motivated by the prevailing need for a sustainable development and taking the principles of Green Chemistry as a starting point, the present paper describes new and updated findings regarding a sustainable product design for ionic liquids. The focus is on environmental risk. Nevertheless, cytotoxicity testing and first indicative results from a genotoxicity study extend present knowledge also with regard to possible effects on humans. The structural variability of commercially available ionic liquids as well as the abundance of theoretically accessible ionic liquids is illustrated and the consequences for an integrated risk assessment accompanying the development process are discussed. The side chain effect on toxicity for imidazolium type ionic liquids was confounded by more complex biological testing. Also, an influence of an anion on cytotoxicity is shown for the first time. Testing of presumed metabolites of the imidazolium type cations showed a significantly lower biological activity in cytotoxicity studies than their parent compounds. The importance of a purity assessment for ionic liquids is pointed out and a collection of methods that is believed to be adequate is presented. In addition to risk analysis, the use of life cycle analysis for the multi-objective problem of designing ionic liquids is sketched and an eco-design scheme for ionic liquids is proposed. In conclusion, the paper illustrates the complex nature of the development processes ionic liquids are currently undergoing and provides guidance on which aspects have to be kept in mind.

Zinc pyrithione 1-hydroxypyridine-2-thione, zinc complex; ZnPT2 is currently viewed as the top prospect for replacing tributyltin antifoulants in ship paints. Thus, the risk assessment of a high scale release of ZnPT2to the natural environment is of increasing importance. The knowledge of the molecular mechanisms related to biological effects of ZnPT2and its transformation products is crucial for this assessment and thus for the decision whether pyrithiones are sound or “green” alternatives to organotin antifoulants. A multitude of biological effects of pyrithiones is already known while the underlying molecular mechanisms of action remain obscure. This study presents toxicological data of zinc pyrithione and several structural analogs in rat leukemic cells IPC-81. The N-hydroxythioamide functional group proved to play a significant role in the molecular mechanisms related to the biological action. Structural analogs, which are deprived of one or more molecular interaction or chemical reaction potentials given by this group namely pyridine, pyridine 1-oxide and pyridine 2-thione, bis2-pyridinyldisulfide, and three methylated metabolites, exhibit far less toxic potential in IPC-81 cells than pyrithiones i.e., 2-pyridinethione-1-oxides. In particular the trans-metallization products of ZnPT2, iron FePT3 and copper CuPT2 pyrithione, and the oxidation product bis2-pyridinyldisulfide 1,1′-dioxide pyrithione disulfide, PT2 have been proven to be as toxic as ZnPT2and tributyltin chloride in IPC-81 cells. CuPT2, FePT3and PT2need to be considered as environmental transformations products of ZnPT2.

Abstract. Experimental results are presented on the transition to turbulence of a plane Couette flow locally and permanently forced by a small bead. The intermittent aspect of this transition is investigated in a detailed analysis of the transition periods from coherent to turbulent and vice versa. A maximum number of transitions are achieved at a Reynolds number of about 310. It is shown that the breakdown of the flow coherence results from a complex succession of events occurring as follows. A secondary instability takes place leading to a drift of at least one vortex pair away from the excitation source. Consequently, the flow in the bead vicinity is laminar and a vortex pair is generated. Turbulence results from the interaction between the newly born vortex and the one already active. As the fluctuation intensity decreases all over the flow, the laminar state is recovered in the bead vicinity from which two vortex pairs are regenerated. The second main contribution of this paper is the study of the turbulent state using spatio-temporal correlation. The role of lateral streaks and their properties in the turbulent state are investigated. It is demonstrated that the turbulent spot is sustained by a vortex generation near the source followed by convection towards the boundaries. In both coherent and turbulent states, the flow near the bead is found to determine the plane Couette flow evolution.

The cell wall of the oomycete plant pathogen Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae contains a protein called CBEL that shows cellulose-binding (CB), elicitor (E) of defense in plants and lectin-like (L) activities. The biological role of this molecule in Phytophthora was investigated by generating transgenic strains suppressed in CBEL expression. Phenotypic characterization of these strains showed that they were severely impaired in adhesion to a cellophane membrane, differentiation of lobed structures in contact with cellophane, and formation of branched aggregating hyphae on cellophane and on flax cellulose fibres. Infection assays revealed that the strains suppressed in CBEL expression were not greatly affected in pathogenicity and formed branched aggregating hyphae in contact with the roots of the host plant, thereby indicating that CBEL is involved in the perception of cellulose rather than in the morphogenesis of hyphal aggregates. Interestingly, the absence of CBEL was correlated with abnormal formation of papillae-like cell wall thickenings in vitro, suggesting that CBEL is involved in cell wall deposition in Phytophthora. Reverse genetics in oomycetes has long been hampered by their diploid nature and difficulties in transformation and regeneration. The gene inactivation approach reported in this work provides the first direct evidence for intrinsic functions of an elicitor and cell wall protein in oomycetes.

The cell wall of the oomycete plant pathogen Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae contains a protein called CBEL that shows cellulose-binding (CB), elicitor (E) of defense in plants and lectin-like (L) activities. The biological role of this molecule in Phytophthora was investigated by generating transgenic strains suppressed in CBEL expression. Phenotypic characterization of these strains showed that they were severely impaired in adhesion to a cellophane membrane, differentiation of lobed structures in contact with cellophane, and formation of branched aggregating hyphae on cellophane and on flax cellulose fibres. Infection assays revealed that the strains suppressed in CBELexpression were not greatly affected in pathogenicity and formed branched aggregating hyphae in contact with the roots of the host plant, thereby indicating that CBEL is involved in the perception of cellulose rather than in the morphogenesis of hyphal aggregates. Interestingly, the absence of CBEL was correlated with abnormal formation of papillae-like cell wall thickenings in vitro, suggesting that CBEL is involved in cell wall deposition in Phytophthora. Reverse genetics in oomycetes has long been hampered by their diploid nature and difficulties in transformation and regeneration. The gene inactivation approach reported in this work provides the first direct evidence for intrinsic functions of an elicitor and cell wall protein in oomycetes.

The formation of a transient complex between photosystem I and ferredoxin is involved in the process of ferredoxin photoreduction in oxygenic photosynthetic organisms. Reduced ferredoxin is an essential redox intermediate involved in many assimilatory processes and is necessary for the reduction of NADP+ to NADPH. Single crystals from a complex of photosystem I with ferredoxin were grown using PEG 400 and CaCl2 as precipitation agents. The crystals diffract x-rays to a resolution of 7–8Å. The space group was determined to be orthorhombic with the unit cell dimensions a=194Å, b=208Å, and c=354Å. The crystals contain photosystem I and ferredoxin in a 1:1 ratio. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements on these crystals are reported, where EPR signals of the three [4Fe-4S] clusters FA, FB, FX, and the [2Fe-2S] cluster of ferredoxin were detected. From the EPR spectra observed at three particular orientations of the crystal in the magnetic field, the full orientation pattern of the FA−g-tensor was simulated. This simulation is consistent with the presence of 12 magnetically inequivalent FA− clusters per unit cell with the C3 axis of the PSI trimers oriented at (23°, 72°, 77°) to the unit cell axes.

The PsaD subunit of photosystem I is one of the central polypeptides for the interaction with ferredoxin, its acidic electron acceptor. In the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803, this role is partly performed by a sequence extending approximately from histidine 97 to arginine 119, close to the C-terminus. In the present work, acidic amino acids D100, E105, and E109 are shown to moderate the affinity of Photosystem I for ferredoxin. Most single replacements of these residues by neutral amino acids increased the affinity for ferredoxin, resulting in a dissociation constant as low as 0.015 μM for the E105Q mutant (wild-type KD = 0.4 μM). This is the first report on the limitation of photosystem I affinity for ferredoxin due to acidic amino acids from PsaD subunit. It highlights the occurrence of a negative control on the binding during the formation of transient complexes between electron carriers.

PsaD subunit of Synechocystis sp PCC 6803 photosystem I (PSI) plays a critical role in the stability of the complex and is part of the docking site for ferredoxin (Fd). In the present study we describe major physiological and biochemical effects resulting from mutations in the accessible C-terminal end of the protein. Four basic residues were mutated: R111, K117, K131, and K135, and a large 36-amino acid deletion was generated at the C terminus. PSI from R111C mutant has a 5-fold decreased affinity for Fd, comparable with the effect of the C terminus deletion, and NADP+ is photoreduced with a 2-fold decreased rate, without consequence on cell growth. The K117A mutation has no effect on the affinity for Fd, but decreases the stability of PsaE subunit, a loss of stability also observed in R111C and the deletion mutants. The double mutation K131A/K135A does not change Fd binding and reduction, but decreases the overall stability of PSI and impairs the cell growth at temperatures above 30 degrees C. Three mutants, R111C, K117A, and the C-terminal deleted exhibit a higher content of the trimeric form of PSI, in apparent relation to the removal of solvent accessible positive charges. Various regions in the C terminus of cyanobacterial PsaD thus are involved in Fd strong binding, PSI stability, and accumulation of trimeric PSI.