Search

Labor results in severe pain for most women. In the absence of medical contraindication, maternal request is a sufficient indication for pain relief, which is performed in the vast majority of developed countries through neuraxial analgesia. Regional analgesia techniques (spinal, epidural, and combined spinal epidural) are the most flexible, effective, and least debilitating to the central nervous system, enabling an alert and active woman to deliver an alert neonate [1].

International audience; Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease affecting distal pulmonary arteries (PA). These arteries are deformed, leading to right ventricular failure. Current treatments are limited. Physiologically, pulsatile blood flow is detrimental to the vasculature. In response to sustained pulsatile stress, vessels release nitric oxide (NO) to induce vasodilation for self-protection. Based on this observation, this study developed a protocol to assess whether an artificial pulmonary pulsatile blood flow could induce an NO-dependent decrease in pulmonary artery pressure. One group of piglets was exposed to chronic hypoxia for 3 weeks and compared to a control group of piglets. Once a week, the piglets underwent echocardiography to assess PAH severity. At the end of hypoxia exposure, the piglets were subjected to a pulsatile protocol using a pulsatile catheter. After being anesthetized and prepared for surgery, the jugular vein of the piglet was isolated and the catheter was introduced through the right atrium, the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery, under radioscopic control. Pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) was measured before (T0), immediately after (T1) and 30 min after (T2) the pulsatile protocol. It was demonstrated that this pulsatile protocol is a safe and efficient method of inducing a significant reduction in mean PAP via an NO-dependent mechanism. These data open up new avenues for the clinical management of PAH.

International audience; Using multimedia identification tools is considered as one of the most promising solutions to help bridging the taxonomic gap and build accurate knowledge of the identity, the geographic distribution and the evolution of living species. Large and structured communities of nature observers (e.g. eBird, Xeno-canto, Tela Botanica, etc.) as well as big monitoring equipments have actually started to produce outstanding collections of multimedia records. Unfortunately, the performance of the state-of-the-art analysis techniques on such data is still not well understood and is far from reaching the real world's requirements. The LifeCLEF lab proposes to evaluate these challenges around 3 tasks related to multimedia information retrieval and fine-grained classification problems in 3 living worlds. Each task is based on large and real-world data and the measured challenges are defined in collaboration with biologists and environmental stakeholders in order to reflect realistic usage scenarios. This paper presents more particularly the 2015 edition of Life-CLEF. For each of the three tasks, we report the methodology and the data sets as well as the raw results and the main outcomes.

International audience; This study shows for the first time, that dexfenfluramine, a 5-HT 2 receptor agonist, attenuates the development of chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension. Chronic exposure to hypoxia, 4 weeks, induced hypoxic pulmonary hypertension in adult rat as haemodynamic and cardiac measurements showed significant modifications in right ventricle parameters (free wall right ventricle thickness; pulmonary acceleration time and velocity time integral) in chronic hypoxic control when compared to normoxic control animals. We observed that free wall right ventricle thickness and pulmonary velocity time integral were significantly less in chronic hypoxic rats treated with dexfenfluramine when compared to chronic hypoxic control rats. Similarly, rats exposed to chronic hypoxia exhibited an increase in both right ventricle pressure and weight by comparison to normoxic control animals but those variations were significantly diminished in dexfenfluramine-treated rats, indicating the moderating influence exerted by dexfenfluramine on chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension and cardiac alterations. Thus, we report here the ability of dexfenfluramine to limit chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension, emphasizing the importance of the time after the dexfenfluramine treatment discontinuation to assess the influence of this 5-HT receptor agonist on the development of chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension.

Although the effects of high-frequency electromagnetic fields on biological systems have been studied frequently, unequivocal results have rarely been obtained, primarily because suitably controlled experiments could not be performed. In the present work, tomato plants were exposed to a homogeneous and isotropic field (900 MHz) using a mode stirred reverberation chamber, and the stress-related transcripts (calmodulin, protease inhibitor and chloroplast mRNA-binding protein) were assayed by real-time quantitative PCR. Exposure to an electromagnetic field induced a biphasic response, in which the levels of all three transcripts increased four-to six-fold 15 min after the end of electromagnetic stimulation, dropped to close to initial levels by 30 min, and then increased again at 60 min. We deliberately focused on the very early molecular responses to high-frequency electromagnetic fields in order to minimize secondary effects.

Taking advantage of the specific behaviour of Na/Ca montmorillonite in aqueous dispersion, textured films were prepared by progressive evaporation of dispersions with low concentrations of delaminated platelets. The increase of the concentration of ions during evaporation changes the nature of the clay mineral platelet face interactions from repulsive to attractive. After complete drying, a dense brick-like structure is obtained when a sodium salt is used as deflocculant. The bending strength of the textured film is strongly affected by cracks formation during drying, specially when the sample thickness increases. After optimisation, crack-free textured samples with a 140 μm thickness, 20 cm × 25 cm area and 120 MPa bending strength were obtained.

Purpose: Because carbon monoxide (CO) has been reported able to induce relaxation, we aimed to investigate the effects of exercise training on the rat thoracic aorta responsiveness to a CO-releasing molecule (CORM), tricarbonyldichlororuthenium ([Ru(CO)3Cl2]2). Methods: Male Wistar rats (N = 32) were divided in hypertensive and normotensive groups using the two-kidney, one-clip model of Goldblatt or SHAM surgery. Hypertensive and normotensive groups were assigned to an exercise training protocol on a level treadmill over a 10-wk period or were assigned to remain sedentary. After the exercise training protocol, blood pressure and cardiac tissue weight were assessed. The responsiveness of endothelium-denuded thoracic aortic rings to [Ru(CO)3Cl2]2 was evaluated by isometric contractions recordings. Results: Systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressures were significantly increased in hypertensive rats compared with control rats. Exercise training did not significantly alter blood pressure but decreased pulse pressure in hypertensive animals compared with sedentary hypertensive rats. In all groups, application of [Ru(CO)3Cl2]2 induced relaxation in precontracted aortic rings. Compared with normotensive rats, CO-induced relaxation was significantly decreased in hypertensive rats. Nevertheless, training exercise increased relaxation markedly in response to [Ru(CO)3Cl2]2 application in hypertensive rats, whereas it remained without effect in control rings. Pretreatment with TEA, a nonselective K+ channel inhibitor, decreased [Ru(CO)3Cl2]2-induced relaxation in all groups that became similar. In trained hypertensive rats, iberiotoxin had effects similar to those of TEA. Conclusions: This finding supports the concept that the CORM [Ru(CO)3Cl2]2 can induce relaxation in both normotensive and hypertensive rats with an impairment of the CO-induced relaxation during hypertension. However, exercise training improves the aorta's ability to relax in response to [Ru(CO)3Cl2]2 during hypertension, probably by increasing K+ channel activity.

We aimed to assess the accuracy of Doppler tissue imaging (DTI) in detecting right ventricle (RV) dysfunction and electromechanical coupling alteration following pulmonary hypertension (PHT) in rat. PHT was induced by chronic hypoxia exposure (hypoxic PHT) or monocrotaline treatment (monocrotaline PHT). In both PHT models, we observed transparietal RV pressure increase and remodeling, including hypertrophy and dilation. Conventional echocardiography provided evidence for pulmonary outflow impairment with midsystolic notch and acceleration time decrease in PHT groups (21.7 ± 1.6 and 13.2 ± 2.9 ms in hypoxic and monocrotaline PHT groups vs. 28.1 ± 1.0 ms in control). RV shortening fraction was decreased in the monocrotaline PHT group compared with the hypoxic PHT and control groups. Combining conventional Doppler and DTI was more helpful to detect RV diastolic dysfunction in the monocrotaline PHT group (E/Ea ratio = 17.0 ± 1.4) compared with the hypoxic PHT and control groups (11.5 ± 0.7 and 10.2 ± 0.4, respectively). Tei index measured using DTI highlighted global RV dysfunction in the monocrotaline PHT group (1.36 ± 0.24 vs. 0.92 ± 0.05 and 0.86 ± 0.05 in the hypoxic PHT and control groups, respectively). Q-Sm time measured from the onset of Q wave to the onset of DTI Sm wave was increased in both PHT groups. PHT-induced electromechanical coupling alteration was confirmed by in vitro activation-contraction delay measurements on isolated RV papillary muscle, and both Q-Sm time and activation-contraction delay were correlated with PHT severity. We demonstrated that Q-Sm time measured in DTI was an easily and convenient index to detect early RV electromechanical coupling alteration in both moderate and severe PHT.

In order to be able to monitor dispersion and setting of cements, admixtures can be added, which usually can consist of large organic molecules. Here, the choice is different since small organic molecules have been used as in ceramic processing. This work concerns the preparation of calcium aluminate cement paste in the presence of acetic acid; the water to cement mass ratio is equal to 0.6 and the acid to cement mass ratio,, ranges between 0 and 0.05. This admixture can have either a retarding or an accelerating effect on cement setting. The retarding effect is because of adsorption of acetate complexes, CaCH3CO2+ positively charged, at the surface of CA particles, negatively charged, which leads to the delay (slowing down) of dissolution; it can reach 52 h (case of). When, there is a remarkable accelerating effect. The setting starts 2 h after mixing the cement with the liquid and is fairly constant for higher acetic acid contents. This rapid setting in acid conditions is because of the formation of hydrated calcium acetate in very low quantities and possibly gibbsite; the setting mechanism is quite different since there is no formation of conventional calcium and aluminum hydrates. As an example, with the highest amount of HOAc (), no CxAyHz type of calcium aluminum hydrate is formed after aging for 4 days at 20°C and 95% relative humidity. There is also a densifying effect of acetic acid; the open porosity of set samples left to age for 4 days at 20°C and 95% relative humidity decreases from 35 to 25 vol% whengoes from 0 to 0.005 and remains relatively constant afterwards. Lastly, this decrease in the porosity continues with aging time; at 6 months, we obtain values as low as 9 vol% in samples where.

Aluminous cement pastes (Secar 71 from Lafarge) containing increasing quantities of acetic acid, HOAc, are prepared (( w HOAc / w cement ) × 100 ranges from 0 to 10%). Pastes containing HOAc present a Newtonian behavior. The best dispersion is obtained when the mass content of acid with respect to the cement is equal to 0.5%. Microstructural characterizations of samples aged for 4 days at 20 °C and 95% relative humidity reveal a significant increase in density, a reduction in porosity as well as a displacement of pore diameter towards low sizes. The open porous volume decreases with time from 25 to 9 vol.% when samples are 4 days and 6 months old, respectively. The addition of HOAc also has a beneficial effect on the flexural strength of set samples.

Purpose: We have recently described a novel surgical technique for female stress urinary incontinence, that is the transobturator vaginal tape inside out, which uses specific instruments for the passage of a synthetic tape from beneath the urethra toward the thigh folds. Herein we report the results of cadaver dissection performed to determine the anatomical trajectory of the tape and its relationships with neighboring neurovascular structures and organs. Materials and Methods: Insertion of the transobturator vaginal tape inside out tape was performed by different surgeons in 12 freshly frozen female cadavers according to the standard procedure. The thigh, obturator, perineal and pelvic regions were dissected and tape trajectory was recorded. An additional cadaver was dissected without prior tape placement. Results: The tape was inserted according to a certain consistent path, that is penetration from the suburethral space into a strictly perineal region limited medial and cranial by the levator ani muscle, caudal by the perineal membrane and lateral by the obturator internus muscle. This region corresponded to the most anterior recess of the ischiorectal fossa. The tape then perforated the obturator membrane and muscles, and exited through the skin after traversing adductor muscles and subcutaneous tissue. The tape was coursed away from 1) the dorsal nerve to the clitoris located more superficially below the perineal membrane, 2) the obturator nerve and vessels, and 3) the saphenous and femoral vessels. Conclusions: These findings strongly suggest that our transobturator technique is highly accurate, reproducible and safe, and it does not require perioperative cystoscopy.

Fine particle of iron compound has been obtain by precipitation of ferric ions in a kaolin suspension. Theses particules located on the kaolinite platelets surface, were transformed into hematite near 300°C during a thermal treatment in air. This hematite located on platelets surface, influences the thermal evolution of kaolinite only after the formation of metakaolin: it did not affect dehydroxylation process, but the structural reorganisation peak were strongly modified. A study of the densification behaviour of this material by ultrasonic echography had shown that the cristallisation and densification were favours by iron: they began at lower temperature.

The material used in the present work is Secar 71 (Lafarge) mixed with water containing an organic additive (acetic acid noted HOAc). The rheological behavior of these pastes is studied. The best dispersion is obtained when the mass content of the additive with respect to the cement is equal to 0.5%. The microstructural characterizations of samples aged 4 days at 20°C and 95 % relative humidity reveal a significant increase in the density and a reduction in porosity for very small percentages of additive. The remarkable effect of the acetic acid on the microstructure of hardened material is correlated with its good dispersing action.

Pollution is known to particularly affect patients with respiratory insufficiency and right ventricle abnormalities. We therefore hypothesized that carbon monoxide (CO) at low dose could be involved in cardiovascular disorders in patients with chronic hypoxic pulmonary hypertension secondary to chronic hypoxia. Ten-week-old male and female healthy Dark Agouti rats were randomly divided into two series--untrained (U) and trained (T)--of four groups of 18 animals each. Both U and T series were continuously exposed to ambient air (U(AIR), and T(AIR); n = 16) or air plus 50 ppm CO (U(AIR+CO) and T(AIR+CO); n = 18). Similarly, rats initially subjected to right ventricle hypertrophy secondary to chronic hypoxia (H) were continuously exposed to ambient air (TH(AIR), and UH(AIR); n = 18) or air plus 50 ppm CO (UH(AIR+CO), and TH(AIR+CO); n = 18). Doppler-echocardiography and hemodynamic studies performed at rest both indi-cated that CO had no significant effect on cardiac morphology or functions in control rats (U(AIR+CO) vs U(AIR)). In contrast, cardiac dilation and large decreases in left ventricular ejection fraction, mitral early diastolic rapid inflow (E) deceleration, E/atrial contraction filling (A) ratio, +dP/dt, and -dP/dt were found in TH(AIR+CO) compared with TH(AIR). After exposure, heart rate variability was unaffected in U(AIR+CO), whereas total power spectra were markedly decreased and low frequency/high frequency power ratio was increased in TH(AIR+CO) rats. CO pollution could be directly involved in cardiac disorders of patients with pre-existent hypertrophic cardiomyopathies.

Purpose To test the effects of irradiation (R*) on the pulmonary artery (PA). Methods and materials Isolated PA rings were submitted to gamma irradiation (cesium, 8 Gy/min −1 ) at doses of 20 Gy–140 Gy. Rings were placed in an organ chamber, contracted with serotonin (10 −4 M 5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]), then exposed to acetylcholine (ACh) in incremental concentrations. Smooth muscle cell (SMC) membrane potential was measured with microelectrodes. Results A high dose of irradiation (60 Gy) increased 5HT contraction by 20%, whereas lower (20 Gy) doses slightly decreased it compared with control. In the absence of the endothelium, 5-HT precontracted rings exposed to 20 Gy irradiation developed a dose-dependent relaxation induced by acetylcholine (EI-ACh) with maximal relaxation of 60 ± 17% ( n = 13). This was totally blocked by L-NAME (10 −4 M), partly by 7-nitro indazole; it was abolished by hypoxia and iberiotoxin, decreased by tetra-ethyl-ammonium, and not affected by free radical scavengers. In irradiated rings, hypoxia induced a slight contraction which was never observed in control rings. No differences in SMC membrane potential were observed between irradiated and nonirradiated PA rings. Conclusion Irradiation mediates endothelium independent relaxation by a mechanism involving the nitric oxide pathway and K-channels.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reversibility of right ventricular (RV) remodelling after pulmonary artery hypertension (PAHT) secondary to 3 wk of hypobaric hypoxia. A group of 10 adult male Wistar rats were studied and were the following: control normoxic (C), after 3 wk of chronic hypoxia (CH), and after 3 wk of exposure to hypoxia followed by 3 wk of normoxia recovery (N-RE). Mean pulmonary artery pressure was 11 ± 2 mmHg in the C group, 35 ± 2 mmHg in the CH group, and 14 ± 3 mmHg in the N-RE group. RV function was assessed by echocardiography. In the CH group, the pulmonary flow measured in Doppler mode depicted a midsystolic notch and a decrease of the pulmonary acceleration time compared with control [17 ± 1 vs. 34 ± 1 ms ( n = 10), respectively; P < 0.05]. RV thickening measured in M-mode was apparent in the CH group compared with the control group [2.84 ± 0.40 vs. 1.73 ± 0.26 mm ( n = 10), P < 0.05]. In the N-RE group, the RV wall was significantly thinner compared with the CH group [1.56 ± 0.08 vs. 1.73 ± 0.26 mm ( n = 10), P < 0.05]. The calculated RV diameter shortness fraction was not different between the CH group and C group (34 ± 4.2% vs. 36 ± 2.8%) but decreased in the N-RE group [20 ± 2.4% ( n = 10), P < 0.01]. The E-to-A wave ratio on the tricuspid Doppler inflow was significantly lower in the CH group and N-RE group compared with the C group [0.70 ± 0.8 and 0.72 ± 0.1 vs. 0.88 ± 0.2 ( n = 10), respectively; P < 0.05]. In the isolated perfused heart using the Langendorff method, RV compliance was increased in the CH group and decreased in the N-RE group. In the N-RE group, fibrous bands with metaplasia were observed on histological sections of the RV free wall. We conclude that PAHT induces nonreversible RV dysfunction with dysplasia.

For years, the avionics systems have been implemented via Line Replaceable Units (LRU) where each LRU is dedicated to one avionics function, leading to huge avionics costs as more and more functions were embedded. In the late 80's, came the idea of Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) where generic “platforms” would be shared by several “applications“. “First-generation” IMA programs demonstrated the industry capability to provide integrated “avionics suites” with standardised computing resources, leading to significant improvements in terms of direct and indirect aircraft costs. With the “Second-generation” of IMA program, the IMA platforms are now being procured separately from the hosted avionics applications, introducing many challenges in terms of industrial organisation, design processes and tools. Thales with Diehl Avionik Systeme, its 49% German subsidiary, has been awarded IMA platforms on the A380 and had to overcome with Airbus these challenges to make this “2nd-generation” IMA a success. The paper will review how Thales and Diehl are conducting these changes, and how System Engineering processes are impacted. The paper will also give some hints and what is still to be made or could be envisioned as a “3rd-generation” IMA.

Spinal anesthesia is commonly used in former preterm infants (FPI). In these patients, hypotension induced by spinal anesthesia may impair cerebral blood flow. We measured cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) by transcranial Doppler ultrasound to assess the effect of hypotension induced by spinal anesthesia on cerebral hemodynamics. Twelve FPI scheduled for inguinal hernia repair were operated under spinal anesthesia using 1 mg/kg isobaric 0.5% bupivacaine. Systolic, diastolic, and mean middle cerebral artery CBFV were measured at 5 min before and 5 min and 10 min after spinal anesthesia using a transcranial pulsed Doppler ultrasonography. Arterial blood pressure and heart rate were recorded simultaneously. Cerebral arteries resistance index (RI) was calculated as RI = (peak systolic CBFV - end-diastolic CBFV)/peak systolic CBFV. Diastolic CBFV decreased significantly from 30.0 +/- 11.1 cm/s to 20.1 +/- 8.4 cm/s at 5 min and to 20.1 +/- 7.0 cm/s at 10 min. RI increased significantly from 0.7 +/- 0.1 to 0.8 +/- 0.1 at 5 min and 10 min. Systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures decreased significantly at the same time intervals. We suggest that in FPI, spinal anesthesia induces a decrease in cerebral blood flow related to changes in arterial blood pressure. Whether these changes have deleterious consequences remains to be determined.In former preterm infants having spinal anesthesia with bupivacaine, a decrease in cerebral blood flow velocity is displayed by middle cerebral artery transcranial Doppler examination.

This paper deals with a numerical FDTD approach to solve a particular ground-penetrating problem. Classical Yee FDTD formulation is used to simulate layered media on a perfectly electrically conductive plate (PEC). It is shown that an alternative of the step 3-D PML formulated by Sullivan is well adaptated to surround the computational domain. In particular, the PEC can be easily extended to the PML medium without any extra reflection error.

The low-temperature properties of a diluted antiferromagnetic pyrochlore slab of S = 3/2 spins are investigated through a study of the frustrated oxides Ba 2 Sn 2 Ga 10-7p ZnCr 7p O 22 (p > 0.85). Powder neutron diffraction and 119 Sn Mossbauer absorption show no evidence of long-range magnetic order above 1.5 K. As in SrCr 9q Ga 12-9q O 19 , diffuse magnetic scattering, indicative of short range spin-spin correlations, is observed at low temperature. The dependence of the low-temperature sub-Curie bulk susceptibility to weak site depletion is the inverse of that observed in SrCr 9q Ga 12-9q O 19 .

Background: The decrease in heart rate variability (HRV) might be related to the hemodynamic status in heart failure. However, HRV in patients with severe isolated right heart failure has not been extensively studied. Aims: This study compared HRV in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and in patients with isolated right heart failure. Methods: Time and frequency domain analysis of HRV on 24-h ECG recording was assessed in 15 healthy subjects and in two groups of patients with severe heart failure awaiting heart or heart/lung transplantation. These were 15 patients with CHF due to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC) and 10 patients with isolated right heart failure due to primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH). Results: Measurement of HRV were significantly decreased in both groups of patients compared with the control group. Patients with IDC had higher pulmonary capillary wedge pressure than patients with PPH (P=0.04) but lower pulmonary artery pressure and lower pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) (P

Doppler and M-mode echocardiography (EC) were used to investigate the effects of minoxidil on the cardiac function of the dog and potentially to clarify the pathogenesis of cardiac lesions, in particular the necrotic lesion in the left ventricle and the haemorrhagic lesion in the right atrium. Groups of three dogs were treated with a single oral dose of 0.5 or 2 mg/kg minoxidil or control vehicle, and M-mode and Doppler parameters were recorded at different time points before as well as 1, 3 and 24 h after treatment. The treatment produced a number of changes in M-mode parameters that indicate an increase in left ventricle contractility, in particular, increases in the percentage of thickening of the left ventricle wall during systole and in ejection fraction, and decrease of systolic volume. There was also a decrease in diastolic volume, which indicates a decrease in filling of the left ventricle probably due to the tachycardia and subsequent decrease in inter-systolic time. Doppler EC showed an increase in the velocity of the aortic flow, which indicates an increase in cardiac contractility. There was also a mild increase in stroke volume, which together with the tachycardia resulted in a marked increase in cardiac output. Together, Doppler and M-mode recordings gave evidence of an increase in the contractility of the left ventricle. This change is consistent with the generally accepted mechanism for the development of the left ventricle lesion induced by minoxidil. Minoxidil also produced changes in atrio-ventricular flows. The velocity and/or acceleration of E- and A-waves of the mitral and tricuspid flows increased, and the E/A ratio decreased. The changes in the E-wave indicate a faster diastole of the ventricle probably to compensate for the decrease in inter-systolic time. The changes in A wave are characteristic of an increased amplitude and velocity of the atrial contraction. This latter change is much more marked for tricuspid than for mitral flow. For both flows the E/A ratio decreased, which indicates that the contraction of the atria plays an increased role in ventricle filling after minoxidil treatment. This stimulation of atrial contraction that we evaluate with Doppler EC may play a key role in the development of the atrial lesion produced by minoxidil. The fact that the change is more marked in the right than in the left atrium may explain why the lesion occurs only in the right atrium in dogs. This study showed, therefore, that Doppler EC associated with M-mode EC is a useful method for obtaining pertinent information on the pathogenesis of the left ventricle lesion induced by haemodynamic mechanisms. Moreover, Doppler EC allowed the assessment of changes in the function of the right atrium that may be involved in the development of the right atrial lesion.

The rate of neuraxial analgesia during labor in France is one of the highest among high-income countries: 77% of vaginal deliveries in 2010. In this context, the question of how women's preferences for delivering without neuraxial analgesia relate to actual use is of interest. Our objective was to study the factors associated with women's initial preference for labor without neuraxial analgesia and those associated with its use in women who initially preferred not to have it.We used data from the 2010 French National Perinatal Survey, a cross-sectional study of a representative sample of all births in France. Data were collected from interviews with mothers in the postpartum ward and from medical records. Our sample included 7123 women who had vaginal deliveries and were at low risk for cesarean delivery. The factors analyzed were maternal sociodemographic characteristics, prenatal care, childbirth class attendance, labor management, and organization of maternity units. Multilevel Poisson regression models were used to study factors associated with women's initial preference in the overall population and to study factors associated with actual use of neuraxial analgesia in the group of women who initially preferred not to have it.Initially, 26% of our population (n = 1835) preferred to deliver without neuraxial analgesia; this preference was associated with high parity, unfavorable social conditions, and delivery in a public maternity unit. Among these women, 52% (n = 961) delivered with neuraxial analgesia. This discrepancy between initial preference and actual use was significantly associated with nulliparity (adjusted relative risk [aRR] = 1.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-1.6), oxytocin augmentation of labor (aRR = 2.4; 95% CI, 2.1-2.7), presence of an anesthesiologist in the unit 24/7 (aRR = 1.4; 95% CI, 1.2-1.6; compared with delivery in hospitals without an anesthesiologist on site 24/7), and high midwife workload (aRR = 1.1; 95% CI, 1.0-1.2). There was no clear association with maternal educational level.Our results suggest that parity, the management of labor, and availability of anesthesiologists play a major role in the intrapartum decision to use neuraxial analgesia for women who initially preferred not to have it. Further research is necessary in the clinical circumstances leading to this decision and the role of women's demands and medical staff attitudes throughout labor.

Clinically, the effect of chronic hypoxia (CH) in the pulmonary circulation alternates between phases of pulmonary artery hypertension (CH-PAHT) and normoxic normotensive remission (N-RE). Little information is available on the role of calcium-sensitive potassium channels (BK(Ca)) in both CH-PAHT and N-RE phases. In the present study, we investigated the effects of both CH and N-RE on BK(Ca) channels activity and their consequences on hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV).Using isolated ring preparation, the patch-clamp technique, RT-PCR and Western immunoblotting, we examined the role of the BK(Ca) channel in normoxic, CH-PAHT and N-RE rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs).In intrapulmonary arterial rings, acute hypoxia induced contraction in control vessels, relaxation in the N-RE rats, and had no effect in CH-PAHT. The hypoxia-induced relaxation in the N-RE rat pulmonary arteries was abolished by iberiotoxin (IbTx), a specific BK(Ca) blocker. The IbTx-sensitive whole-cell K(Ca) channel current was reduced in CH-PAHT and increased in N-RE rat PASMCs. The BK(Ca) channel conductance and voltage sensitivity were not altered in CH and N-RE rat PASMCs, whereas its calcium sensitivity was decreased and increased in CH and N-RE rat PASMCs, respectively. Results of RT-PCR and Western blot analysis revealed a decrease in the mRNA and protein of the BK(Ca) alpha-subunit in CH, whereas no change at protein level was observed in the N-RE.In rat PASMCs, CH and N-RE are associated with a down- and up-regulation of BK(Ca) activity, respectively, mainly due to modifications of its Ca(2+) sensitivity. This could explain the acute hypoxic pulmonary constriction and relaxation observed in CH and N-RE rats, respectively.

The preparation of porous SiC ceramics from stoechiometric mixtures of silicon and graphite has been studied. Products with very high pore contents (≈80%) were obtained using a process which consisted of heating the reactive pellets in purified argon, at 15 °C min −1 , up to 1430 °C and applying a weak d.c. voltage across the sample for 20 s. The resulting electrical current was necessary for the ignition of an SHS reaction simultaneously in the whole sample. The analysis of the sample microstructure evolution all along the process has enabled the identification of the different mechanisms involved in the SiC formation. Before the SHS stage, the formation of silicon carbide, during heating from about 1325 up to 1430 °C, is associated with a large sample expansion, which mainly determined the final pore volume fraction. The pore transfer mechanisms, which occur during the SHS stage at 1430 °C, have a specific influence on the pore development. Since the final pore size distribution is strongly related to silicon grain granulometry, the porosity of the porous SiC ceramic, obtained by this process, can be easily modulated.

The aims of this study were to relate heart morphology and functions changes to heart rate variability (HRV) components after acclimatization to high altitude and to define whether preadaptation to hypoxia could modulate HRV responses to acute hypoxic stress. Doppler-echocardiographic studies of the left ventricle were performed in female Wistar rats before, during, and after a 10-week exposure to moderate hypobaric hypoxia (CH rats, approximately 4000 m simulated) or normoxia (N rats, approximately 55 m). Right ventricular morphology and function and pulmonary artery pressure were evaluated using heart catheterization. Spectral analysis of HRV was studied after exposure in conscious unrestrained rats in normoxia and during acute hypoxic stress. Necropsy right ventricular hypertrophy and intraventricular and pulmonary artery hypertension were found in CH rats compared with N rats. Echocardiographic left ventricular morphology and functions were similar between the groups after exposures. Compared to the control group, CH rats had similar heart rates and HRV components when measured in normoxia. During acute hypoxic stress, HRV decreased in all rats, but less in CH rats. These results support the hypothesis that long-term mild hypoxia may moderate sympathetic activation induced by acute hypoxia and that right ventricular hypertrophy cannot be the direct cause of such a shift in sympathovagal nerve interaction during acute hypoxic stress.

Ce travail decrit une nouvelle voie de preparation des ceramiques a base de cordierite en utilisant une matiere premiere abondante au Maroc : le rhassoul. Constitue essentiellement de stevensite (Mg 3 Si 4 O 10 (OH) 2 ), celui-ci peut etre substitue au talc dans la synthese de la cordierite. Deux voies ont ete explorees : - a partir de melanges rhassoul + silice + alumine ; - a partir de melanges rhassoul + andalousite. L'avancement de la reaction a ete suivi par diffraction des rayons X en analysant, apres refroidissement, des echantillons elabores entre 1200 et 1300°C. La formation de cordierite est particulierement aisee du fait de la grande surface specifique du rhassoul. Les ceramiques obtenues par frittage reaction a 1250°C ont ete caracterisees par diffraction des rayons X et microscopie electronique a balayage. Le coefficient de dilatation thermique a ete mesure.

In order to assess possible influences of socioeconomic status and gender on habitual physical activity (HPA) of prepubertal French children, daily heart rate was 24-hr-monitored in 65 normal subjects for 2 days in the same school week. HPA was evaluated as the mean daily time spent at heart rates greater than 140 bpm (tFC > 140), 160 bpm (tFC > 160), 50% (tFC > 50%), and 70% (tFC > 70%) of the heart rate reserve. An effect of socioeconomic status (determined by questionnaire) was found in boys, with HPA being greater in the underprivileged ones (tFC > 140: 51.8 ± 30.1 vs 33.0 ± 14.1 min, p FC > 160: 22.7 ± 16.6 vs 11.1 ± 7.4 min, p FC > 50%: 61.4 ± 33.5 vs 46.5 ± 17.1 min, p FC > 70%: 20.1 ± 15.2 vs 10.6 ± 7.1, p FC > 140: 51.8 ± 30.1 vs 32.8 ± 26.0 min, tFC > 160: 22.7 ± 16.6 vs 9.9 ± 8.2 min, p FC > 50%: 61.4 ± 33.5 vs 37.4 ± 23.8 min, p FC > 70%: 20.1 ± 15.2 vs 8.1 ± 6.3, p

The thermal transformation of a kaolin raw material results from individual contributions of kaolinite and mica minerals, and from the complex nature of their mixture. In addition, it appears that the iron sites are subject to changes with the firing temperature and the heating rate, which influence the thermal transformations. Mossbauer spectroscopy provides information about iron site geometry and iron valence, and the resolution of this technique is high. For the kaolin studied, we determined the relative quantity of structural Fe III and hematite as a function of temperature, up to 1100 °C and for two heating rates, 3 and 50 °C/min. Results indicate the loss of hematite above 900 °C and a subsequent increase of Fe III in the structure of silico-aluminate phases. This trend is accentuated for a higher heating rate.

An increased Ca 2+ influx attributed to dihydropyridine-sensitive L-type Ca 2+ channels has been demonstrated in mesenteric vascular smooth muscle cells of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). This study examined whether an upregulation of the pore-forming α 1C subunit of the L-type Ca 2+ channel underlies this ionic defect. With the use of mesenteric arcade arteries from 12- to 16-week-old SHR and normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats, reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction demonstrated an increased level of amplified cDNA corresponding to the α 1C subunit mRNA in the SHR arteries. Western blots confirmed that the increased mRNA expression was associated with a 3.4-fold increase in the immunoreactive signal of the α 1C subunit protein in SHR compared with WKY mesenteric arteries, and immunocytochemistry confirmed this abnormality at the single-cell level. Finally, isolated mesenteric arteries from SHR were highly reactive to Bay K8644 and developed anomalous Ca 2+ -dependent tone, suggesting a functional role for α 1C subunit upregulation in vascular hyperreactivity. To determine if these Ca 2+ channel abnormalities extended to the SHR skeletal muscle bed, we repeated a similar series of studies in WKY and SHR hind limb arteries. Skeletal muscle arteries from SHR also expressed higher levels of α 1C subunit mRNA and protein than WKY arteries and developed anomalous Ca 2+ -dependent tone attributed to L-type Ca 2+ channels. Our data provide the first evidence that the α 1C subunit mRNA and protein are upregulated in SHR arteries and that the increased numbers of L-type Ca 2+ channel pores are associated with the generation of abnormal vascular tone.

In an aluminous cement, which mainly consists of CA, the stable phases arising during hydration are C3AH6 and AH3. This communication presents a chemical route for the synthesis of C3AH6 which is based on hydration of C3A. Mixtures of CA, C3AH6 and AH3 are characterised by ultrasonic testing. The ultrasonic velocity obtained on these mixtures is lower than what is observed in hydrated aluminous cement of similar chemical composition. Interfaces are thought to play a significant role in the ultrasonic response of aluminous cements.

Introduction Le fibrinogene concentre (FC) est utilise en pratique en France dans l’hemorragie du post-partum severe (HPPS). Or les preuves de l’efficacite de ce traitement sont tres limitees dans ce contexte. Objectif Tester l’existence d’une association independante entre l’administration de FC, ses modalites, et la gravite finale de l’HPPS. Materiel et methodes La population d’etude etait constituee de toutes les femmes presentant une HPPS primaire avec transfusion lors du saignement actif d’au moins un concentre globulaire (CG). Elle est issue de l’etude prospective en population EPIMOMS menee dans six regions francaises en 2012–2013 (182 309 accouchements). La gravite finale de l’hemorragie etait caracterisee par le statut near miss, defini par le choc hemorragique et/ou une/des dysfonction(s) d’organe(s) et/ou le deces maternel. L’exposition d’interet etait l’administration de FC et ses modalites (quantite totale de FC administree, delai d’administration du FC par rapport au 1er CG). Les associations entre FC et statut near miss ont ete etudiees par regression logistique multivariee avec ajustement sur les facteurs de risque d’HPP et sur la severite et la prise en charge initiales de l’HPPS. Une analyse de sensibilite a ete effectuee chez les femmes presentant une HPPS exclusivement secondaire a une atonie uterine, ainsi qu’une analyse stratifiee en fonction de la fibrinogenemie (Fg) avant substitution (Fg Resultats Dans la population d’etude (n = 746), 327 femmes (43,8 %) ont recu du FC et 153 ont evolue vers un statut near miss (20,5 %). Il existait une association brute positive entre administration de FC et statut near miss (ORb = 2,0 [IC95 % : 1,4–2,9]) qui disparaissait apres ajustement sur les caracteristiques de severite et de prise en charge initiales de l’HPPS (ORa = 1,0 [0,6–1,7]). Chez les femmes substituees en FC, la quantite totale de FC etait positivement associee au statut near miss en analyses uni et multivariee (ORb = 1,3 [1,1–1,5], ORa = 1,2 [1,0–1,5] pour 1 g de FC), de meme que l’administration du FC ≥ 180 min apres le 1er CG par rapport a un delai Conclusion Ce travail met en evidence des associations positives entre administration de FC, quantite de FC et statut near miss, tres probablement expliquees par un biais d’indication qui n’a pu etre contourne malgre l’utilisation d’un score de propension. Cependant nous avons retrouve chez les femmes substituees en FC une association positive entre le delai prolonge a l’administration du FC au sein de la transfusion et le statut near miss, suggerant un benefice de l’administration precoce quand le FC est utilise. Face a ces resultats, la realisation d’un essai randomise sur l’efficacite du FC dans l’HPPS reste cependant indispensable.

This work addresses the development of an eventual low cost ceramic insulating or microfiltration membrane supports from inexpensive raw materials such Eloued quartz sand (EQS) and calcium phosphate (CP) using uniaxially dry compaction method. The prepared samples were sintered at different temperatures ranging between 1200 and 1550 ºC. Subsequently, the effects of sintering temperature and amount of CP on samples proprieties were investigated. It is observed that X-ray diffracion measurements confirmed that EQS was transformed into cristobalite and tridymite phases when both sintering temperature and holding time were increased. This transformation is favored with increasing amount of CP, it is observed also formation of CaSiO3 and Ca(Fe)(Al)PO4. The SEM images of the samples sintered at different temperatures illustrate that silica grains, CP grains, intergranular phase contents (Si, Ca, P, and O) and an important open porosity depend on the sintering temperature. The porosity ratio changes in the range between 37% and 34% according to sintering temperature and to CP content; these values are in good agreement with SEM images. The thermal expansion behavior shows a weak expansion in the range of temperature between 600 and 1000 ºC which is situated between 1.27% and 1.33% (variation of 0.05% at 400 ºC).

Journal de Gynecologie Obstetrique et Biologie de la Reproduction - Vol. 43 - N° 10 - p. 1170-1179

OBJECTIVE: To determine the national rate per delivery of pregnancy-related ICU admissions of women in France, the characteristics and severity of these cases, and their trends over the 4-year study period. DESIGN: Descriptive study from the national hospital discharge database. SETTING: All ICUs in France. PATIENTS: All women admitted to an ICU during the pregnancy, the delivery, or the postpartum period from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2009. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of 3,262,526 deliveries, 11,824 women had pregnancy-related ICU admissions, for an overall rate of 3.6 per 1,000 deliveries. The conditions reported most frequently were obstetric hemorrhages (34.2%) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (22.3%). Case severity was assessed with four markers: case-fatality rate (1.3%), length of ICU stay (mean, 3.0 ± 0.1 d), Simplified Acute Physiology Score II score (mean: 19.7 ± 0.1), and a SUP REA code, which indicates the combination of a Simplified Acute Physiology Score II score more than or equal to 15 and at least one specific procedure related to life support or organ failure (23.0%). The most frequent causes of ICU admission were those associated with the least severity in the ICU. During the study period, the rate of pregnancy-related ICU admissions decreased from 3.9 to 3.4 per 1,000 deliveries (p < 0.001), whereas the overall severity of cases increased with longer stays, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II scores, and a greater proportion of SUP REA codes (all p < 0.001). Analysis by principal diagnosis showed that the severity of the condition of women admitted to ICU significantly increased over time for hemorrhages and hypertensive complications. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of women with pregnancy-related ICU admissions decreased and the severity of their cases increased. Most ICU admissions remained related to the least severe conditions. This raises the issue of the most appropriate organization of care for women with pregnancy-related conditions who require continuous surveillance but not necessarily intensive care.

This paper discusses the results of the LifeCLEF 2014 multimedia identification challenges with regards to the requirements of real-world ecological surveillance systems. In particular, we study the identification performances of the evaluated systems as a function of the ordinariness or rarity of the species in the dataset. This allows us to assess the ability of the underlying methods to be robust to heavily tailed distributions such as the ones encountered in real-world collections of life observations. Results show that all methods are more or less affected by the long-tail curse but that the best methods making use of classifiers with good discrimi- nation capacities do resist the phenomenon pretty well.

A promising anode material for Li-ion batteries based on MgH₂ with around 5 nm average particles size was synthesized by a bottom-up method. A series of several composites containing MgH₂ nanoparticles well dispersed into a porous carbon host has been prepared with different metal content up to 70 wt%. A narrow particle size distribution (1-10 nm) of the MgH₂ nanospecies with around 5.5 nm average size can be controlled up to 50 wt% Mg. After a ball milling treatment under Ar, the composite containing 50 wt% Mg shows an impressive cycle life stability with a good electrochemical capacity of around 500 mA h g(-1). Moreover, the nanoparticles' size distribution is stable during cycling.

International audience; The reactivity of pure molecular fluorine F2 allows the creation of new materials with unique electrochemical properties. We demonstrate that titanium oxyfluoride TiOF2 can be obtained under molecular fluorine from anatase titanium oxide TiO2, while the fluorination of rutile TiO2 leads only to pure fluoride form TiF4. Contrary to most fluorides, TiOF2 is air-stable and hydrolyses poorly under humid conditions. Such a stability makes it possible for TiOF2 to be studied as an electrode material in Li-ion secondary battery systems. It shows the capacity as high as 220 mA h g−1 and good cyclability at high current rates at an average potential of 2.3 V vs. Li+/Li. At such a potential, only Li+ insertion occurs, as proven by in operando XRD/electrochemistry experiments.

Chapitre : Information Access Evaluation. Multilinguality, Multimodality, and Interaction; International audience; Using multimedia identification tools is considered as one of the most promising solutions to help bridging the taxonomic gap and build accurate knowledge of the identity, the geographic distribution and the evolution of living species. Large and structured communities of nature observers (e.g. eBird, Xeno-canto, Tela Botanica, etc.) as well as big monitoring equipments have actually started to produce outstanding collections of multimedia records. Unfortunately, the performance of the state-of-the-art analysis techniques on such data is still not well understood and is far from reaching the real world’s requirements. The LifeCLEF lab proposes to evaluate these challenges around three tasks related to multimedia information retrieval and fine-grained classification problems in three living worlds. Each task is based on large and real-world data and the measured challenges are defined in collaboration with biologists and environmental stakeholders in order to reflect realistic usage scenarios. This paper presents more particularly the 2014 edition of LifeCLEF, i.e. the pilot one. For each of the three tasks, we report the methodology and the datasets as well as the official results and the main outcomes.

International audience; This paper describes the participation of Inria within the Pl@ntNet project7 at the LifeCLEF2014 plant identication task. The aim of the task was to produce a list of relevant species for each plant observation in a test dataset according to a training dataset. Each plant observation contains several annotated pictures with organ/view tags: Flower, Leaf, Fruit, Stem, Branch, Entire, Scan (exclusively of leaf). Our system treated independently each category of organ/view and then a late hierarchical fusion is used in order to combine the results on visual content analysis from the most local level analysis in pictures to the highest level related to a plant observation. For the photographs of flowers, leaves, fruits, stems, branches and entire views of plants, a large scale matching approach of local features extracted using different spatial constraints is used. For scans, the method combines the large scale matching approach with shape descriptors and geometric parameters on shape boundary. Then, several fusion methods are experimented through the four submitted runs in order to combine hierarchically the local responses to the final response at the plant observation level. The four submitted runs obtained good results and got the 4th to the 7th place over 27 submitted runs by 10 participating teams

National audience

This paper addresses the safety assessment of an ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC) device, namely a transmission line. We assume that both the physical parameters of this transmission line and those of the illumination wave are uncertain. The objective is to assess the probability of occurrence of an extreme event defined in terms of requirements imposed on the current circulating in the line. The work is based on methods of the structural reliability research community. The efficiency and accuracy of the applied methods are compared with reference results obtained by simulations.

The aim of this contribution is to present a whole experimental methodology to assess the effects of uncertainties for a classical EMC issue. To this end, a cabinet was designed and achieved with controlled geometrical parameters including moving external slot and internal plate, an inner rotating unit embedded with stirrer and cable. From industrial expectations, the experimental setup and the theoretical basis will be described briefly. Then, the validation (convergence, accuracy and robustness) of the proposed stochastic methods will be obtained facing Monte Carlo (MC) measurements including three random parameters. Finally, the combination of stochastic techniques with sensitivity study will improve the global process.

Building accurate knowledge of the identity, the geographicdistribution and the evolution of living species is essentialfor a sustainable development of humanity as well as forbiodiversity conservation. In this context, using multimediaidentication tools is considered as one of the most promisingsolution to help bridging the taxonomic gap. With therecent advances in digital devices/equipment, network bandwidthand information storage capacities, the production ofmultimedia big data has indeed become an easy task. In parallel,the emergence of citizen sciences and social networkingtools has fostered the creation of large and structured communitiesof nature observers (e.g. eBird, Xeno-canto, TelaBotanica, etc.) that have started to produce outstandingcollections of multimedia records. Unfortunately, the performanceof the state-of-the-art multimedia analysis techniqueson such data is still not well understood and is far fromreaching the real world's requirements in terms of identi-cation tools. The LifeCLEF lab proposes to evaluate thesechallenges around 3 tasks related to multimedia informationretrieval and ne-grained classication problems in 3 livingworlds. Each task is based on large and real-world data andthe measured challenges are dened in collaboration withbiologists and environmental stakeholders in order to reflect realistic usage scenarios.

With an objective to fabricate Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) based sensors, the solution route is investigated. The dispersion routes are chosen here to avoid the CNTs to form bundles which can reduce their surface area. The results show that SWNTs-based gas sensors made by the surfactant method is possible if the annealing temperature is correctly chosen. The use of a surfactant allows preparing sensing layers which present responses to NO2 exposure in the 50-200 ppb Range. In a second procedure the CNTs are noncovalently functionalized and used as sensing material for BTX (Benzene, Toluene and Xylenes) detection. The noncovalent functionalisation occurs through p-p stacking between the SWNTs framework and the highly delocalized π-system of the macrocycle which are phthalocyanines and porphyrines derivatives. The SWNTs materials are characterized by standard techniques (UV-Vis spectroscopy, TGA, TEM, Raman analysis). For BTX detection, we used a double transduction mode: IDEs (Interdigitated electrodes) and QCM (Quartz Crystal Microbalance) in order to get insight into the sensing mechanism.

International audience; This paper presents several improvements of Pl@ntNet1, an image sharing and retrieval application for identifying plants [6]: (i) ported to most android platforms (ii) three times more data (iii) exploiting metadata as well as visual content in the identification process (iv) a new multi-plant-organ, multi-image and multi-feature merging strategy with separate indexes for each visual feature (v) integrating crosslanguages functions. This paper also presents the new results achieved by our system in the ImageCLEF 2013 plant identification task and in real-world user trials

National audience; Assister les naturalistes débutants ou confirmés, pour identifier les plantes qu’ils rencontrent sur le terrain et partager leurs observations, tel est l’objectif de ce projet.