Search

In this study, flexible textile supercapacitors were obtained on jute fabrics. Insulating jute fibers were converted into electrically conducting using an optimized reduced graphene oxide (rGO) deposition method. Supercapacitors were made of jute fabric and polypyrrole (PPy) as conducting polymer. rGO improved the electrical behavior of PPy-jute supercapacitors obtained by chemical polymerization. These chemical PPy-jute supercapacitors presented a low surface resistivity (6 Ω/sq) suitable for subsequent electrochemical polymerization. The best results were obtained for rGO-PPy-jute supercapacitors synthesized by electrochemical polymerization, with capacitance values of 5127 mF cm−2(117 F g−1) in a 3-electrode system; and1770 mF cm−2, 39.9 F g−1, 250 μW h cm−2and 1100 μW cm−2in a 2-electrode system. It is essential to highlight that the jute supercapacitors obtained are eco-friendly, low cost, flexible and with very competitive energy-storage values compared to recent investigations.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US) has been used in single-center studies to evaluate tumor response to antiangiogenic treatments: the change of area under the perfusion curve (AUC), a criterion linked to blood volume, was consistently correlated with the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors response. The main objective here was to do a multicentric validation of the use of DCE-US to evaluate tumor response in different solid tumor types treated by several antiangiogenic agents. A secondary objective was to evaluate the costs of the procedure.

In this work, we analyze two Mn50Ni50-xSnx alloys with Sn content i.e., x = 5 and 7.5 respectively. These alloys are produced as ribbon-shape by melt spinning. Their structural transformation is checked by calorimetry. Martensitic transformation temperatures of these alloys strongly depend on the composition. From X-ray diffraction analysis, the 14M monoclinic phase is the main phase in both alloys, but in the alloy Sn5 appears a minor tetragonal phase too.

Sudden cardiac death is an unresolved problem which causes significant mortality and morbidity in both the community and in-hospital setting. Cardiac arrest is often caused by ventricular tachyarrhythmias which may be mostly interrupted by cardioversion or defibrillation. The single most critical factor for survival is the response time. Over the last 30 years, there have been virtually no procedural changes in the way hospitals address in-hospital resuscitation. A unique device has been developed that eliminates human intervention and assures defibrillation therapy is administered in seconds. This is accomplished with a fully automatic, external bedside monitor defibrillator designed to be prophylactically attached to hospitalized patients at risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia. The safety and efficacy of the device has been demonstrated in multicenter US and European trials. Thus, this device allows a new scenario which may increase survival and enables meaningful redistribution of health resources.

The application of distributed systems theory to the implementation of industrial control systems is one of the best options to develop simple, scalable and physically distributed control systems.

A distributed expert system has been proposed for the smart house control. Its configuration is mainly based on the use of distributed nodes connected by means of a CAN network. This kind of systems allow the implementation of highly flexible control systems capable of adapting themselves to different situations. The expert system used is based on Rule Nets (RN), which are a formalism that seeks to express an automatism in a similar way to as would make it a human being: "IF antecedents THEN consequents". But at the same time Rule nets are a tool for the design, analysis and implementation of rule based systems (RBS), and consist on a mathematic-logical structure which analytically reflects the set of rules that the human expert has designed. Additionally, the RN is able to take decisions concerning possible malfunctions and has bounded response time.

To evaluate the possible involvement of adenosine A2Areceptor‐mediated mechanisms in levodopa‐induced motor fluctuations, we investigated the effects of CSC (8‐(3‐chlorostryryl) caffeine), a selective adenosine A2Areceptor antagonist, on levodopa‐induced motor alterations in rats with unilateral 6‐OHDA lesion. Acute and chronic administration of CSC was studied to evaluate the possible reversion or prevention of these levodopa effects. In a first set of experiments, rats were treated with levodopa (25 mg/kg with benserazide, twice daily, i.p.) for 22 days and on day 23 CSC (5 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered immediately before levodopa. In a second set of experiments, rats were treated daily for 22 days with levodopa and CSC (5 mg/kg/day, i.p.). The duration of the rotational behavior induced by chronic levodopa decreased after 22 days (P< 0.05). Acute administration of CSC on day 23 reversed levodopa‐induced shortening in motor response duration (P< 0.01). Chronic CSC administration did not prevent the shortening in response duration induced by levodopa. Our results demonstrate that the adenosine A2Areceptor antagonist CSC reverses but does not prevent levodopa‐induced motor alterations in parkinsonian rats. These results suggest a role for adenosine A2Areceptor‐mediated mechanisms in the pathophysiology of levodopa‐induced motor response complications. These findings suggest that the antagonism of adenosine A2Areceptors might confer clinical benefit to parkinsonian patients under levodopa therapy suffering from motor complication syndrome. Synapse 46:251–257, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

To evaluate the possible involvement of glutamate AMPA receptor‐mediated mechanisms in levodopa‐induced motor fluctuations, we investigated the effects of LY293558, a competitive AMPA receptor antagonist, on levodopa‐induced motor alterations in rats with unilateral 6‐OHDA lesion. Acute and chronic administration of LY293558 was studied to evaluate the possible reversion or prevention of these levodopa effects. In the first set of experiments, rats were treated with levodopa (25 mg/kg with benserazide, twice daily, i.p.) for 22 days and on day 23 LY293558 (5 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered immediately before levodopa. In the second set of experiments, rats were treated daily for 22 days with levodopa and LY293558 (5 mg/kg, twice daily, i.p.). In the third set of experiments, the effect of LY293558 (5 mg/kg, i.p.) administration on selective dopamine D‐1 (SKF38393, 1.5 mg/kg, s.c.) and D‐2 agonist (quinpirole, 0.1 mg/kg, i.p.)‐induced rotational behavior after daily levodopa treatment was studied. The duration of the rotational behavior induced by chronic levodopa decreased by 30% after 22 days. Acute administration of LY293558 on day 23 reversed this effect. The group of animals that were chronically treated with levodopa and LY293558 did not show the decrease in this motor response duration. Chronic levodopa treatment attenuated the rotational response to the D‐1 agonist SKF38393 and increased the response to the D‐2 agonist quinpirole. LY293558 did not reverse the effect of levodopa on rotational behavior induced by the D‐1 agonist but significantly reduced the rotational response to the D‐2 agonist in levodopa‐treated animals by 40%. Our results demonstrate that an AMPA receptor antagonist reverses and prevents levodopa‐induced motor alterations in parkinsonian rats and that this effect on motor fluctuations induced by chronic levodopa is probably due to a modulation of the indirect output pathway of the basal ganglia. Synapse 42:40–47, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Chronic dopaminomimetic administration to parkinsonian animal models or Parkinson's disease patients leads to characteristic alteration in motor response. Previous studies suggested that the nonphysiologic stimulation of dopaminergic receptors on striatal medium spiny neurons enhances the synaptic efficacy of juxtaposed glutamate receptors of the N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) subtype. Resultant NMDA receptor sensitization due to differential changes in subunit phosphorylation appears to favor alterations in striatal output in ways that influence motor function. To detail the involvement of NMDA receptors further as well as to determine whether similar functional changes might develop in α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazole propionate (AMPA) receptors, the effects of selective antagonist of AMPA receptors (6‐nitro‐7‐sulfamoyl‐benzo[f]‐quinoxaline‐2,3 (1H,4H)‐dione sodium salt, NBQX, 10 mg/kg) on levodopa‐induced response alterations in 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA) lesioned rats were compared with drugs which act competitively (3‐(±)‐2‐carboxypiperazin‐4‐yl)‐propyl‐1‐phosphonicacid, CPP, 6.25 mg/kg) or noncompetitively (dextromethorphan, 40 mg/kg) to block NMDA receptors, or a nonselective inhibitor of glutamatergic transmission (2‐amino‐6‐trifluoromethoxy benzothiazole, riluzole, 5 mg/kg). We found that the shortened duration of the motor response to levodopa, which underlies human wearing‐off fluctuations, was reversed to a similar degree by the acute coadministration of CPP, NBQX, or riluzole (n = 4–6) but dextromethorphan did not. These observations strengthen the possibility that a reduction in levodopa‐associated changes in motor response by inhibitors of glutamatergic transmission acting generally or selectively at the glutamate binding‐sites may relate to their ability to attenuate pathologic gain in striatal glutamatergic function. The capacity of NBQX to reverse these altered responses suggests that an enhanced synaptic efficacy of striatal AMPA receptors may also participate in the generation of these motor response changes in levodopa‐treated parkinsonian rats. Synapse 36:267–274, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Fredouille, Corinne, Bonastre, Jean-François, and Merlin, Teva, AMIRAL: A Block-Segmental Multirecognizer Architecture for Automatic Speaker Recognition, Digital Signal Processing10(2000), 172–197.

The active form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, induces a stable tolerogenic phenotype in dendritic cells (DCs). This process involves the vitamin D receptor (VDR), which translocates to the nucleus, binds its cognate genomic sites, and promotes epigenetic and transcriptional remodeling. In this study, we report the occurrence of vitamin D-specific DNA demethylation and transcriptional activation at VDR binding sites associated with the acquisition of tolerogenesis in vitro. Differentiation to tolerogenic DCs associates with activation of the IL-6-JAK-STAT3 pathway. We show that JAK2-mediated STAT3 phosphorylation is specific to vitamin D stimulation. VDR and the phosphorylated form of STAT3 interact with each other to form a complex with methylcytosine dioxygenase TET2. Most importantly, pharmacological inhibition of JAK2 reverts vitamin D-induced tolerogenic properties of DCs. This interplay among VDR, STAT3, and TET2 opens up possibilities for modulating DC immunogenic properties in clinics.

Objetivo: A pesar de los esfuerzos para reducir la desigualdad de género, el sexismo persiste. Todavía son escasos los estudios sobre este fenómeno que contemplen variables como el deseo sexual o los antecedentes migratorios. El objetivo del estudio es analizar las circunstancias sociales (individuales y del contexto inmediato) asociadas al sexismo y su relación con la conducta violenta en el contexto de la pareja en población adolescente.

The use of the measurement of vapour pressure as an analytical tool has been studied. The vapour pressure (5.10-4 to 10 mm Hg) of phthalates (1,2), isophthalates (1,3) and terephthalates (1,4) with molecular weight 194 to 418 have been determined by the inert gas saturation technique. The signal produced by this device allows an identification of the fractions issued of a liquid-liquid chromatographic column.

Different series of experimental runs were performed in order to study the interaction of support/microorganisms (stimulatory or inhibitory effects) and the colonisation capability of five different supports. PUR foam followed by plastic PVC rings were the media with better colonisation characteristics. One of the mineral materials tested, namely clay, was found to be a serious inhibitor of biofilm formation.

Une methode de determination des faibles tensions de vapeur a partir de la technique de saturation d'un gaz inerte est proposee. La connaissance de ces grandeurs permet le dosage des micropolluants organiques extraits des eaux ainsi que leur identification. Dans ce travail une application a la serie des phtalates est donnee.

After developing a control expert system that has been applied to the monitoring of a flow-injection analysis system, we observed the limitations of a monolithic implementation; therefore, a distributed version of this knowledge-based system seemed to be necessary. In this article, a distributed expert system architecture is presented, based on the use of generic nodes connected by means of networks. In this way, we can implement a very flexible control system capable of adapting itself to different situations. At the same time, it is possible to take advantage of the power offered by the new communication technologies in the field of analytical chemistry. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Lab Robotics and Automation 10: 163–168, 1998

On-line monitoring of the content of ethanol during an alcoholic fermentation process is carried out by means of an expert system based on rule nets. Time has been fully incorporated into the reasoning of the expert system through several timers, which help the rule net to emulate the human reasoning without increasing its complexity. The hierarchy of the variables used is also described in order to understand the whole system.

Dans le cancer du sein, le développement des marqueurs biologiques pronostiques ou prédictifs a pour objectif de mieux identifier les patientes pour lesquelles un traitement par chimiothérapie pourrait être évité ou a contrario indiqué. Dans ce contexte, en 2009, l’Institut national du cancer (INCa), agence sanitaire et scientifique de l’État chargée de coordonner les actions de lutte contre le cancer, avait publié en partenariat avec la Société française de sénologie et de pathologie mammaire un rapport sur l’état des connaissances relatives aux biomarqueurs uPA/PAI-1, Oncotype DX™ et MammaPrint®dans la prise en charge du cancer du sein. Ce rapport avait montré que seule la valeur pronostique d’uPA/PAI-1 atteignait le plus haut niveau de preuve (LOE I selon la grille de Hayes 1998). En 2012, devant la parution de nouvelles publications et la divergence des messages diffusés sur les signatures moléculaires, il a été décidé d’actualiser le rapport de 2009. Cet article présente les principales conclusions accompagnées de leurs niveaux de preuve.

L’épidémie de COVID-19 a bouleversé l’organisation des établissements de santé à travers la modification des flux de patients, la limitation des ressources médicales disponibles et la nécessité d’adapter les parcours de soins. Ce travail vise à quantifier ce potentiel impact sur les délais de diagnostic et de traitement, la saturation des ressources hospitalières et in fine la mortalité des patients atteints de cancer.

Northern blotting using glyoxal to denature a highly folded mRNA, such as goat α s1 -Casein E, can lead to the detection of multiple incompletely denatured forms. Formaldehyde appears to be the most suitable agent for Northern blotting due to its effective denaturing capacity and lower toxicity than methylmercuric hydroxide.

En France, comme dans de nombreux autres pays, les données nationales de prévalence sont rarement disponibles. L’objectif de l’étude était de construire et de valider un algorithme pour évaluer la prévalence de la leucémie myéloïde chronique (LMC) en France en 2014 à partir des données du Système national des données de santé (SNDS).

Background:In France, as in many other countries, nationwide data on prevalence are rarely available and recent prevalence estimates of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) are scarce. Improved overall survival following the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is expected to have increased the prevalence of CML in Western countries.

L’objectif était de décrire les caractéristiques et la survie des patients atteints d’un cancer épidermoïde de la tête et du cou récurrent ou métastatique et d’estimer le coût de leur prise en charge pendant les phases de traitement et de fin de vie.

Aims and background Brain metastases occur in about 30% of patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma; seizures occur in approximately 20% of them. Antiepileptic drugs are commonly given for postoperative prophylaxis after brain or metastasis tumor surgery. The incidence of seizures following supratentorial craniotomy is estimated to be 15%-20%. Postoperative seizures are more common in the first month after cranial surgery. However, the use of antiepileptic drugs postoperatively has been investigated in randomized controlled trials. In case of seizures, the recommendations are continuing antiepileptic drugs after a 1- to 4-year seizure-free interval. This decision must weigh the risk of seizure recurrence against the possible benefits of the drug. Some antiepileptic drugs have been known to cause blood dyscrasias, including neutropenia, but this is a rare occurrence.Methods We report a case of neutropenia related to the use of levetiracetam at first exposure. After drug administration, neutropenia was detected. Additional tests were performed.Results By exclusion, it was decided to withdraw the drug, and the patient had a reversal of neutropenia.Conclusions Levetiracetam-induced neutropenia is infrequent but possible. It is an exclusion diagnosis.

Le bénéfice de survie est un critère d’efficacité souvent utilisé en évaluation médico-économique et qui est défini par la différence des moyennes de survie des deux bras de traitement. Graphiquement, le bénéfice de survie est équivalent à la différence des aires sous les deux courbes de survie. Dans le cas d’une méta-analyse d’essais randomisés, l’estimation du bénéfice de survie agrégé doit tenir compte des spécificités de données hiérarchiques (stratification sur l’essai et hétérogénéité de l’effet du traitement). Notre objectif est d’effectuer une étude de simulation afin de comparer les caractéristiques de plusieurs méthodes d’estimation du bénéfice de survie agrégé à partir de données individuelles d’une méta-analyse.