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In this paper, we illustrate some of the current methods for the exploitation of data from Earth Observing satellites to measure and understand earthquakes and shallow crustal tectonics. The aim of applying such methods to Earth Observation data is to improve our knowledge of the active fault sources that generate earthquake shaking hazards. We provide examples of the use of Earth Observation, including the measurement and modelling of earthquake deformation processes and the earthquake cycle using both radar and optical imagery. We also highlight the importance of combining these orbiting satellite datasets with airborne, in situ and ground-based geophysical measurements to fully characterise the spatial and timescale of temporal scales of the triggering of earthquakes from an example of surface water loading. Finally, we conclude with an outlook on the anticipated shift from the more established method of observing earthquakes to the systematic measurement of the longer-term accumulation of crustal strain.

Vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia with cerebral venous thrombosis is a syndrome recently described in young adults within two weeks from the first dose of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. Here we report two cases of malignant middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarct and thrombocytopenia 9-10 days following ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination. The two cases arrived in our facility around the same time but from different geographical areas, potentially excluding epidemiological links; meanwhile, no abnormality was found in the respective vaccine batches. Patient 1 was a 57-year-old woman who underwent decompressive craniectomy despite two prior, successful mechanical thrombectomies. Patient 2 was a 55-year-old woman who developed a fatal bilateral malignant MCA infarct. Both patients manifested pulmonary and portal vein thrombosis and high level of antibodies to platelet factor 4-polyanion complexes. None of the patients had ever received heparin in the past before stroke onset. Our observations of rare arterial thrombosis may contribute to assessment of possible adverse effects associated with COVID-19 vaccination., Vaccination is an effective strategy in suppressing COVID-19 pandemic, but rare adverse effects have been reported, including cerebral venous thrombosis. Here the authors report two cases of middle cerebral artery infarct within 9-10 days following ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccination that also manifest pulmonary and portal vein thrombosis.

BackgroundThe nervous system is affected in a relevant number of patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), being responsible for high morbidity and mortality rates. The identification of neurological manifestations is crucial since those symptoms may benefit from anticoagulation treatment. Noteworthy, the prevalence and the characteristics of neurological manifestations in the subset of patients with “seronegative APS” (SN-APS) still need to be investigated.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to assess the neurological involvement in patients with SN-APS. Secondly, association between non-conventional antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) and clinical characteristics were investigated.MethodsWe included all consecutive patients referred to the Lupus Clinic and to the Stroke Unit of our Hospital, presenting clinical features consistent with a diagnosis of APS despite the evidence of persistently negative tests for anti-cardiolipin antibodies (aCL), anti-β2 glycoprotein I, and lupus anticoagulant. Patients with an identified cause of thrombosis and/or pregnancy morbidity were excluded. Patients’ sera were analyzed for the detection of aCL using thin layer chromatography (TLC), while ELISA test was used to detect antibodies directed against the anti-vimentin/cardiolipin complex (aVim/CL).ResultsFrom January 2015 to October 2019, 40 patients with SN-APS and neurological involvement were enrolled. Clinical and demographic characteristics are reported in Table 1. Thirty-three patients (82.5%) resulted positive for at least one non-conventional test (62.5% positive on two occasions) while 17.5% were negative. The occurrence of aCL by TLC immunostaining was 33/40 (82.5%), while a Vim/CL were found in 10/40 (25%). Double positivity for aCL by TLC-immunostaining and aVim/CL was observed in 8/40 patients (20%). Patients who tested positive for non-conventional aPL on two occasions had a five-fold increased risk of developing venous thrombosis (LR 5.24; p=0.022). The positivity for aCL by TLC immunostaining determined an augmented risk of sinus vein thrombosis (LR 5.49; p=0.019) while positivity for aVim/CL raised the likelihood of epilepsy (LR 4.133; p=0.042). Almost all (16/18, 88%) patients with ischemic stroke resulted positive at least one test, 15 tested positive for aCL by TLC-immunostaining and 3 for aVim/CL. In this subset of patients, the positivity for non-conventional aPL on two occasions determined an increased risk of venous thrombosis (LR 8.905; p=0.003) and recurrent stroke (LR 6.321; p=0.012). In particular, those who tested positive for aVim/CL were at higher risk of developing recurrent stroke (LR 6.659; p=0.01).Table 1.CharacteristicsPatients N= 40 (%)Female/Male35/5Mean age in years (S.D.)48 (12.5)Thrombosis34 (85) Arterial23 (57.5) Venous17 (42.5) Recurrent13 (32.5)Pregnancy morbidity12 (34.3) Recurrent miscarriage11 (31.4) Foetal deaths2 (5.7) Premature births2 (5.7)Thrombosis + Pregnancy morbidity6 (17.1)Neurological manifestations Stroke18 (45) Recurrent stroke7 (17.5) Transient ischemic attack4 (10) Venous sinus thrombosis5 (12.5) Headache18 (45) Epilepsy7 (17.5) Transverse myelitis2 (5)Other manifestations Livedo reticularis5 (12.5) Low platelets3 (7.5)ConclusionThe nervous system is one of the most frequently affected in APS, however only few data exist about prevalence, characteristics and outcome of its involvement in SN-APS patients. In this work, using TLC immunostaining and ELISA for aVim/CL, we identified non-conventional aPL antibodies in 62,5% SN-APS patients. This subset of patients presented a wide spectrum of neurological manifestations, with frequencies and features that resemble those observed in APS patients. Furthermore, we demonstrated the association between non-conventional aPL and neurological manifestations, such as sinus vein thrombosis, recurrent stroke and epilepsy. In conclusion, testing for non-conventional aPL antibodies may contribute to the evaluation of the stratification of risk for neurological manifestations in SN-APS.Disclosure of InterestsNone declared

International audience; The performance of Permanent Scatterers PS Interferometry (PSI) analysis is highly limited where the presence of large vegetated cover (agricultural terrains / forests) reduces signal coherence. A possible solution relies on the installation on ground of artificial devices (Corner Reflectors CR) to complement the existing PS network. Yet, the number of such CRs (spatial density typically ~ 1 / km2) can be limited when the deformation pattern affects a large area (tens of km2) especially for CO2 geological storage in open aquifers. In order to support the surveillance of such sites, we address here the question of how to estimate the spatio-temporal distribution of the ground displacements over the whole area using only the sparse CR + PS network. We propose to test the feasibility of the Geostatistics Output Perturbation (GOP) method, enabling to combine the results of the reservoir model calibrated on the limited number of ground displacements’ time series and the spatial correlation between such calibrated results and the observations. A test case was constructed using the signal measured during CO2 injection (from 2004–2009) in the KB501 well of the In-Salah site, Algeria at only a few tens of spatial measurement points either corresponding to: 1. a “realistic” PS network selected in a highly vegetated region in western France and 2. a series of CR selected through a space-filling criterion. The comparison with the observations over the whole area confirmed that 80% of the temporal observations were fitted by the GOP method over the region defined by the CR network with a density of ~ 1 CR / km2. Comparisons with the calibrated model results and with the direct application of a spatio-temporal kriging confirmed the better performance of GOP as well.

Persistent scatterers synthetic aperture radar interferometry (PSI) analysis is viewed as a promising monitoring technique for multiyear detection of ground surface displacements during long term CO2 injection into deep aquifers (of the order of 25 to 50 years). This technique was successfully implemented at the CO2 storage site of In-Salah (Algeria). Yet, this success may not be generalized to future onshore industrial-scale CO2 storage sites, which are planned in far more complex contexts mostly presenting natural terrains variationeither agricultural or vegetal areas. These areas arecharacterized by poor Persistent Scatterer (PS)density, which might locally drop to zero, hence hampering the deployment of the PSI technique. For illustration purpose, a sector in the Paris basin (of 3,455 km²), where the potential implementation of CO2 storage sites has been investigated, is characterized by a land use composed of less than 5 % of artificial or urban areas and more than 95 % of natural (mainly forests) and agricultural areas. In such natural terrains, the absence of bright man-made structures might lead to sparse PS network (with density ~10 PS/km² to less than 1PS/km²). This constitutes a major obstacle to the phase unwrapping stage, for which the solutions are directly dependent on the PS density and makes reliable estimation of deformation using PS techniques a challenging task. The present study aims at exploring the applicability of two approaches to enhance the performance of the PSI technique in such constraining conditions for long term monitoring of CO2 storage sites. The first approach relies on the implementation of network of corner reflectors (CR) corresponding to artificial devices installed on ground to complement the existing "natural" PS network. A strategy for optimization (number and position) the CR network is proposed based on the position of the existing PS and on hydro-mechanical large-scale simulations constrained by the observations (through history-matching). The second approach relies on the use of two advanced PSI processing techniques: 1. Diffuse scatterers analysis (based on Ferretti et al., 2011), which can improve considerably the density of usable "natural" scatterers on certain un-urbanised area; 2. MulSAR technique (Pinel-Puyssegur et al., 2012), which is a processing method, that produces denoised wrapped phase time series, i.e. which facilitates the retrieval of the deformation signal obscured by decorrelation noise. To test the efficiency of these approaches, a synthetic case was constructed as follows: 1. we use as a "reference case" the deformation field observed at In-Salah during CO2 injection into the KB-501 well between 2004 and 2009; 2. the surface characteristics of this reference case are then modified by "artificially" applying the surface conditions (urbanized areas, natural terrains, either agricultural or vegetal areas) of an on-shore site in Western France, which can be considered representative of future industrial-scale storage sites in Europe. 3. by comparing the deformation field retrieved by the PSI technique combined with the afore-described approaches with the one of the reference case, the level of improvement can be estimated. Results show that the direct application of advanced processing techniques may be limited for zones with very high density of natural terrains (>90 % of the surface area), but can still be efficient for zones with moderate-to-high density of natural terrains. On this basis, we propose to improve PSI analysis in highly vegetal / agricultural areas for long term CO2 storage monitoring based on a combination of advanced processing PSI methods and an optimized CR network. References Ferretti, A., Fumagalli, A., Novali, F., Prati, C., Rocca, F., Rucci, A., 2011. A New Algorithm for Processing Interferometric Data-Stacks: SqueeSAR . IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 49 (9), 3460-3470. Pinel-Puyssegur, B., Michel, R., Avouac, J-P., 2012. Multi-link InSAR time series: enhancement of a wrapped interferometric database. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing 5(3), 784-794.

The paper presents an innovative system for shock and vibration isolation of a set of racks on-board vehicles containing equipment sensitive to accelerations. The suspension system is composed of air springs so that the isolation efficiency and the rack attitude do not vary if some evices are replaced with other ones having different inertial characteristics. As the air springs have a low level of damping, the suspension system is equipped with four magnetorheological dampers whose damping may be adjusted in real time to minimize rack accelerations. The suspension system also includes stabilizers in order to contain roll and pitch motions of the racks.

Background and Purpose— Atrial fibrillation (AF) is increasingly recognized as the single most important cause of disabling ischemic stroke in the elderly. We undertook an international survey to characterize the frequency of AF-associated stroke, methods of AF detection, and patient features. Methods— Consecutive patients hospitalized for ischemic stroke in 2013 to 2014 were surveyed from 19 stroke research centers in 19 different countries. Data were analyzed by global regions and World Bank income levels. Results— Of 2144 patients with ischemic stroke, 590 (28%; 95% confidence interval, 25.6–29.5) had AF-associated stroke, with highest frequencies in North America (35%) and Europe (33%) and lowest in Latin America (17%). Most had a history of AF before stroke (15%) or newly detected AF on electrocardiography (10%); only 2% of patients with ischemic stroke had unsuspected AF detected by poststroke cardiac rhythm monitoring. The mean age and 30-day mortality rate of patients with AF-associated stroke (75 years; SD, 11.5 years; 10%; 95% confidence interval, 7.6–12.6, respectively) were substantially higher than those of patients without AF (64 years; SD, 15.58 years; 4%; 95% confidence interval, 3.3–5.4; P r =0.76; P =0.0002). Conclusions— This cross-sectional global sample of patients with recent ischemic stroke shows a substantial frequency of AF-associated stroke throughout the world in proportion to the mean age of the stroke population. Most AF is identified by history or electrocardiography; the yield of conventional short-duration cardiac rhythm monitoring is relatively low. Patients with AF-associated stroke were typically elderly (>75 years old) and more often women.

Following the 12th January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche has funded a project named KAL-Haiti which aims at gathering remote sensing imagery as well as in-situ and exogenous data into a knowledge base. This database, seen as a shareable resource, can serve as a basis for helping the reconstruction of the country, but also as a reference for scientific studies devoted to all phases of risk management. The project main outcome will be a geo-referenced database containing a selection of remotely sensed imagery acquired before and after the disastrous event supplemented with all relevant ancillary data, and enriched with in-situ measurements and exogenous data. The resulting reference database is freely available for research and for reconstruction tasks. It is strongly expected that users will also become contributors by sharing their own data production, thus participating to the growth of the initial kernel. The database will also be enriched with new satellite images, monitoring the evolution of the Haitian situation over the next 10 years.

Preclinical vascular changes (increased stiffness and/or wall thickness) have been observed in children with known metabolic risk factors. Aim of the present study was to evaluate different carotid parameters, representative of vascular health, in children with and without metabolic syndrome (MS). We studied 38 children with MS (mean age 9.6+/-2.6 years; range 6-14 years) and 45 healthy age-matched subjects. Children who met three or more of the following criteria qualified as having the MS: fasting glucose110 mg dl(-1), fasting triglyceride concentration100 mg dl(-1), fasting high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration50 mg dl(-1) for females or45 mg dl(-1) for the males, waist circumference75th percentile for age and gender and systolic or diastolic blood pressure90th percentile for age, gender and height. Carotid B-mode ultrasound examinations were performed and intima-media thickness and diameters were measured in all subjects. Arterial geometry was further characterized by calculation of carotid cross-sectional area. Carotid intima-media thickness and lumen diameters were increased in children with MS as compared to children without MS. Moreover, carotid cross-sectional area was significantly higher in the group of children with MS 9.83+/-1.86 mm(2) [mean+/-s.d.] compared with the control group: 7.77+/-1.72 mm(2), P0.001, even after adjustment for age, gender and height. Carotid hypertrophy is already detectable in children with MS. High-resolution B-mode ultrasound could provide a valuable tool for the cardiovascular risk stratification of children.

The potential for recurrence causes considerable distress for breast cancer survivors. Major information sources for survivors and providers offer few clear recommendations for postdiagnosis lifestyle change related to recurrence. To design interventions to improve long-term survivors' care and quality of life, we must know what survivors are doing to prevent recurrence in the absence of solid evidence, whether survivors' perceptions and behaviors correspond to hypothesized modifiable risk factors for recurrence, and whether survivors are adopting behaviors that could otherwise be harmful to their health. Our review first addresses the general lack of consensus on the impact of specific lifestyle factors on breast cancer recurrence and the resulting equivocal lifestyle recommendations for survivors. Second, we describe inadequacies of the studies of survivors' lifestyle changes related to recurrence. Because much of the existing knowledge about modifiable risk factors for recurrence comes from studies of survivors whose participation and behavior change were potentially influenced by their concern about recurrence, we need large, population-based observational studies of randomly selected breast cancer survivors, adequately representing the target population. Critical are data on lifestyle change from prediagnosis to postdiagnosis and changes over time after diagnosis, extensive data on conventional and nonconventional treatments, and the temporal relationship between behaviors and treatments, and inclusion of the full complement of potential lifestyle risk factors for recurrence. Understanding in detail the current status of survivors' perceptions and behaviors related to modifiable risk factors for recurrence can provide considerable practical information to inform future interventions and communication strategies for breast cancer survivors.

1. Heart. 2007 Jan;93(1):78-81. Epub 2006 Jun 28. Impaired endothelium-dependent vascular reactivity in patients with familial combined hyperlipidaemia. De Michele M, Iannuzzi A, Salvato A, Pauciullo P, Gentile M, Iannuzzo G, Panico S, Pujia A, Bond GM, Rubba P. Division of Cardiology, Moscati Hospital, Aversa, Italy. BACKGROUND: Familial combined hyperlipidaemia (FCHL) is associated with a markedly increased risk of premature coronary artery disease. This study was designed to evaluate whether preclinical atherosclerotic functional abnormalities are detectable in the arteries of patients with FCHL. METHODS: 60 subjects were recruited for the study: 30 probands of families with FCHL (mean (standard deviation (SD)) age 48 (10) years, 77% men), defined by fasting total plasma cholesterol or triglyceride concentration >250 mg/dl (>6.5 mmol/l cholesterol, >2.8 mmol/l triglyceride) and by the occurrence of multiple lipoprotein phenotypes within a family, and 30 age-matched and sex-matched healthy controls. All subjects underwent high-resolution B-mode ultrasound examination and the brachial arterial reactivity, a marker of endothelial function, was measured by a semiautomated computerised program. Lipid profile, resting blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, insulin and homocysteine levels were also determined. RESULTS: Compared with controls, patients with FCHL had significantly higher BMI, diastolic blood pressure and insulin levels. No difference was observed in baseline brachial diameter between the two groups (mean (SD) 3.45 (0.51) mm for FCHL v 3.60 (0.63) mm for controls; p = 0.17). In response to flow increase, the arteries of the controls dilated (mean (SD) 8.9% (4.9%), range 2.3-20.8%), whereas in the patients with FCHL, brachial arterial reactivity was significantly impaired (5.5% (2.5%), range 0-10.1%; p = 0.002). In multivariate linear regression analysis, apolipoprotein B and BMI were independent determinants of brachial artery response to reactive hyperaemia. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of our study suggest that vascular reactivity is impaired in the arteries of patients with FCHL. PMCID: PMC1861336 PMID: 16807271 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Flank-fissure eruptions involve lateral injection and propagation of magma in a volcanic edifice along pre-existing fractures in the direction of the rift zones where magma intrusion and lava flow production are concentrated over time. Thus, the identification and mapping of active fractures and faults is a fundamental aspect of studies of active volcanic systems. However, gradual dyke wedge emplacement at depth in well-fractured zones on volcano flanks and in volcanic rift zones does not necessarily trigger large amplitude deformation signals susceptible to be recorded months or even years before the actual eruption. Here we show that active and potentially eruptive areas can be detected up to 2 yrs before the arrival to the surface of the final eruptive dyke and venting of lava flows by processing satellite images applying a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) algorithm. A posteriori analysis of satellite images indeed reveals that the surficial effects of dyke wedge injection and ascent on plant growth were apparent for Mt. Etna from 2000 to 2002 and for Mt. Nyiragongo in 2001, thus months to years before they erupted.

In this paper the results are presented of original research into the automatic and “intelligent” detection of breakpoints in Dissolved Oxygen (DO) profiles. The research has been based on a large body of data collected from laboratory SBRs operating on synthetic wastewater. Two different approaches were followed to identify the endpoints. The paper analyses and evaluates the results of automatic breakpoint detection on the basis of geometric features in the DO profiles. This was followed by classification of the detected breakpoints using different soft computing techniques based on Neural Network (NN), Fuzzy Neural Network (FuNN) and Evolving Fuzzy Neural Network (EfuNN) software systems for breakpoint classification. A high rate of successful detection and classification was obtained with up to 96% of the decisions made correctly. In order to overcome the limitations of this system to adapt to dynamically changing process conditions, an intelligent control model was developed by a combination between an Evolving Fuzzy Neural Net (EfuNN) combined with a logic decision unit. This system has the ability to “learn on-the-fly” and adjust its response pattern in order to maintain a high rate of successful breakpoint detection under varying changing process conditions. This software system has been successfully embedded on a small programmable controller for integration into larger process control systems for the operation of SBR plants.

Objectives/Hypothesis: Auditory neuropathy is a relatively recently described pattern of hearing loss characterized by preservation of outer hair cell function despite absent brainstem auditory evoked responses. Intact outer hair cell function is demonstrated by the presence of otoacoustic emissions and/or a measurable cochlear microphonic on electrocochleography, whereas no synchronous neural activity (absent action potentials) is seen on acoustically evoked brainstem auditory evoked response testing. The study reviews the authors' experience with six patients diagnosed with auditory neuropathy, four of whom have undergone cochlear implantation. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of all medical and audiological charts at the University of Virginia Hospitals (Charlottesville, VA) was performed to identify patients who have undergone cochlear implantation or have been diagnosed with auditory neuropathy, or both. Results: Six patients with hearing loss attributable to auditory neuropathy were identified, four of whom have undergone cochlear implantation. Causes varied, including congenital, infectious, and idiopathic origins. Adults demonstrated subjective auditory perception on promontory stimulation, whereas no repeatable brainstem auditory evoked response waveforms could be demonstrated on pediatric promontory stimulation testing. Patients with implants demonstrated implant-evoked brainstem auditory evoked responses and improved audiological performance. Conclusions: The six cases presented in the study represent varied causes and, probably, varied sites of lesions of auditory neuropathy. Promontory stimulation has been valuable, particularly in adults. Cochlear implantation allows the opportunity to provide a supraphysiological electrical stimulation to the auditory nerve, with the hope of reintroducing synchronous neural activity. Greater confidence and enthusiasm for cochlear implantation in appropriately selected patients with auditory neuropathy are gained through experience with such diverse cases.

International audience; CO2 capture and storage (CCS) is recognized as a promising solution to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. Key issues associated with CCS relate to the integrity of the reservoir and the containment effectiveness. Some risk events (e.g. regional over-pressurization, leakage through a fault or an abandoned well) identified in the risk analysis may be linked with surface deformations anomalies, which can be detected and followed using surface deformation measurements.At In-Salah (Algeria), Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data are available for all points due to ideal surface conditions. If a similar injection occurred in constrained conditions (large cover of vegetated areas for instance), a geodetic network (set of corner reflectors that constitute artificial measurements points) could be used to compensate the scarcity of existing persistent scatterers. The present study aims at exploring the feasibility of using such a geodetic network as part of the monitoring plan in constrained conditions. The sizing of such a network is discussed regarding three monitoring objectives: regional-scale surveillance, local anomaly with known and unknown spatial locations. In the context of In-Salah, a very limited number of measurement points (∼20) enables capturing the regional deformation pattern. The addition of a series of less than 5 supplementary points brings useful information to detect local anomalies of small-to-moderate (e.g. subsidence, with 1 km radius and 2 mm/y maximal amplitude) size for a known position. For detecting an unpredicted anomaly, the measurements network density needs to be largely increased, making the method more expensive. Though the results are not directly transposable in other settings, this experience feedback brings useful orders of magnitude and an original risk-oriented approach.

Aims The present study was designed to test whether early carotid structural changes are demonstrable (by high resolution B-mode ultrasound) in children, adolescents and young adults with a history of premature parental myocardial infarction. Methods and Results One hundred and fourteen healthy young (5 to 30 years) subjects with a parental history of premature myocardial infarction and 114 age- and sex-matched control subjects were enrolled in the study. They were divided into two age groups: children and adolescents (age 5 to 18 years) (54 individuals with a parental history of premature myocardial infarction and their control subjects; mean age 12·8±3·8 years) and young adults (age 19 to 30 years) (60 individuals with a parental history and their controls; mean age 23·8±3·3 years). All subjects underwent high resolution B-mode ultrasonographic evaluation of common carotid artery intima–media thickness. Lipid profile, resting blood pressure, body mass index and smoking status were also evaluated. In both age groups, compared to controls, subjects with a parental history of premature myocardial infarction had increased intima–media thickness of common carotid arteries (mean of combined sites: age 5–18 years: 0·45±0·076mm vs 0·40±0·066mm in controls, P =0·008; age 19–30 years: 0·48±0·077mm vs 0·45±0·078mm in controls, P =0·007) Offspring of coronary patients showed an unfavourable lipid profile, however, the association between a parental history of premature myocardial infarction and carotid intima–media thickness was independent of lipids, apolipoproteins and other traditional risk factors. Conclusions Vascular structural changes associated with a parental history of premature myocardial infarction are already detectable in childhood and adolescence and occur independently of several traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Copyright 2002 The European Society of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved .

Background and aim The relationships between high Creatinine (Cr) levels or low estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) and common carotid Intima Media thickness (IMT) have been evaluated in a population-based cohort study in women, aged 30–69 (Progetto ATENA). Methods and results Serum Cr and eGFR were measured in 310 women, as a part of 5.062. In this group carotid ultrasound examination (B-Mode imaging) was performed and mean max IMT was calculated. Women were classified by Cr levels >1 mg/dL or eGFR Women with Cr > 1 mg/dL (90th percentile of creatinine distribution) or eGFR less than 56 ml/min (5th percentile of eGFR distribution) had relatively more carotid plaques as compared to the rest of the cohort. Multivariate logistic analysis, after adjustment for age, demonstrated a significant association between Cr (>1 mg/dL) and IMT (≥1.2 mm): OR 4.12 (C.I 1.22–13.86), p = 0.022; or eGFR ( p = 0.019. Conclusions These findings on an independent relationship between Cr and common carotid plaques in this population of middle aged women, independently of age, suggest the value of screening for early carotid disease in asymptomatic middle aged-women with mild renal insufficiency, in order to predict those at relatively higher risk for future cardiovascular events.

Following Haiti earthquake in January 2010, the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche has funded a project named KAL-Haiti which aims at gathering remote sensing imagery as well as in-situ measurements and exogenous data into a knowledge base. Too often limited to the "response" phase, Earth Observation data should also be available for use by relevant agencies involved throughout the disaster management cycle, from recovery and mitigation to preparedness. The resulting geo-referenced database, seen as a shareable resource, can serve as a basis for helping the reconstruction of the country but also as a reference for scientific studies devoted to all phases of risk management. The database is freely available for scientific studies devoted to the different phases of risk management and for reconstruction tasks in Haiti. KAL-Haiti will also be enriched with new satellite images such as Pleiades, monitoring the evolution of Haiti over the next 10 years.

Background: The results of the few studies conducted on the relation between antioxidant vitamins and carotid atherosclerosis have been inconclusive. Objective: We evaluated the association between preclinical carotid atherosclerosis, as determined by high-resolution B-mode ultrasound, and both the intake amounts and plasma concentrations of antioxidant vitamins. Design: Among 5062 participants in Progetto Atena, a populationbased study on the etiology of cardiovascular disease and cancer in women, 310 women were examined by B-mode ultrasound to detect early signs of carotid atherosclerosis. The participants answered a food-frequency questionnaire, and their plasma concentrations of vitamin E, vitamin A, and carotenoids were measured. None of the women took vitamin supplements. Results: The occurrence of atherosclerotic plaques at the carotid bifurcation was inversely associated with tertiles of vitamin E intake; the test for a linear trend across tertiles was significant (P < 0.05). Similarly, the ratio of plasma vitamin E to plasma cholesterol was inversely related to the presence of plaques at the carotid bifurcation; the test for a linear trend across tertiles was significant (P < 0.02). No association was found between the intake of other antioxidant vitamins (vitamins A and C and carotenoids) or their plasma concentrations and the presence of carotid plaques. Conclusions: An inverse association was found between both the intake amount and plasma concentration of vitamin E and preclinical carotid atherosclerosis in middle-aged women. This association was independent of other cardiovascular risk factors, was not related to vitamin supplements, and supports the hypothesis that low vitamin E intake is a risk factor for early atherosclerosis.

International audience; The Parkfield section of the San Andreas Fault (SAF) is defined as a transitional portion of the fault between slip-release behavior types in the creeping section of the SAF to the northwest and the apparently locked section to the southeast. The Parkfield section is characterized by complex frictional fault behavior because it represents a transition zone from aseismic creep to stick-slip regime. At least six historic earthquakes of Mw ~6 have occurred in this area in 1881, 1901, 1922, 1934, 1966, and 2004. It was observed in the 2004 Mw 6.0 Parkfield earthquake that ~70% of the total (coseismic and postseismic) moment release occurred aseismically. To understand the SAF behavior in this area, it is of particular interest to measure and analyze, not only the spatial evolution of the surface displacement in this area, but also its evolution over time. Using radar data acquired by the European Space Agency's European Remote Sensing (ERS1-2) satellites, we constructed descending interferograms and retrieved time series of surface displacements along the central SAF for the decade preceding the 2004 Parkfield earthquake. We focus on characterizing the space and time evolution of surface creep in the Parkfield and Cholame sections. The spatial pattern of the interseismic displacement rate indicates that tectonic strain was not uniformly distributed along the strike of the fault between 1993 and 2004. Our data indicate not only a decrease in the creep rate from the Parkfield section to south of Highway-46 from 1.4 ±0.3 cm/y to 0.6 ±0.3 cm/y, but also a small but significant creep-rate increase in the Cholame section to 0.2 ±0.1 cm/y. The evidence for episodic creep in the Cholame section of the SAF south-east of Parkfield is in contrast with previously published interpretations of GPS and trilateration data. The Cholame section of the SAF merits close monitoring because it was likely the nucleation site of the 1857 Fort Tejón earthquake and because it has shown recent evidence of deep slow slip as revealed by deep tremors.

International audience; In this paper we investigate the surface displacement related to the 2006 Machaze earthquake using Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) and sub-pixel correlation (SPC) of radar amplitude images. We focus on surface displacement measurement during three stages of the seismic cycle. First, we examined the co-seismic stage, using an Advanced SAR (ASAR) sensor onboard the Envisat satellite. Then we investigated the post-seismic stage using the Phase Array L-band SAR sensor (PALSAR) onboard the ALOS satellite. Lastly, we focussed on the inter-seismic stage, prior to the earthquake by analysing the L20 and JERS-1 SAR data. The high degree of signal decorrelation in the C-band co-seismic interferogram hinders a correct positioning of the surface rupture and correct phase unwrapping. The post-seismic L-band interferograms reveal a time-constant surface displacement, causing subsidence of the surface at a ~ 5 cm/yr rate. This phenomenon continued to affect the close rupture field for at least two years following the earthquake and intrinsically reveals a candidate seismogenic fault trace that we use as a proxy for an inversion against an elastic dislocation model. Prior to the earthquake, the JERS interferograms do not indicate any traces of pre-seismic slip on the sismogenic fault. Therefore, slip after the earthquake is post seismic, and it was triggered by the Machaze earthquake. This feature represents a prominent post-seismic slip event rarely observed in such a geodynamic context.

Both differential SAR Interferometry (DInSAR) and Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) are used to estimate surface displacement of the Nord/Pas-de-Calais coal basin during a 15-year period (1992–2007) after the end of 270 years of mining exploitation. On the results issued from ERS and Envisat data processing, even if the area undergoes high temporal decorrelation due to the high amount of field crops, present residual deformation are well detected. Those deformations show low amplitude with a maximum rate of more than 1 cm/year during a period of 5 to 7 years after the end of the mining exploitation (1992–1999). Then decrease up to stability, prevails, depending on the area. The deformation field obtained by differential and Persistent Scatterer Interferometry shows good agreement with the traditional methods of levelling comparison focused on specific sites. The recent displacements, revealed by DInSAR and PSI within a wider area, lead us to propose various natural (geology and neotectonics) or/and anthropic origins.

This article presents the main results of the Persistent Scatterer Interferometry Codes Cross Comparison and Certification for long term differential interferometry (PSIC4) project. The project was based on the validation of the PSI (Persistent Scatterer Interferometry) data with respect to levelling data on a subsiding mining area near Gardanne, in the South of France. Eight PSI participant teams processed the SAR data without any a priori information, as a blind test. Intercomparison of the different teams' results was then carried out in order to assess any similarities and discrepancies. The subsidence velocity intercomparison results obtained from the PSI data showed a standard deviation between 0.6 and 1.9 mm/year between the teams. The velocity validation against rates measured on the ground showed a standard deviation between 5 and 7 mm/year. A comparison of the PSI time series and levelling time series shows that if the displacement is larger than about 2 cm in between two consecutive SAR-images, PS-InSAR starts to seriously deviate from the levelling time series. Non-linear deformation rates up to several cm/year appear to be the main reason for these reduced performances, as no prior information was used to adjust the processing parameters. Under such testing conditions and without good ground-truth information, the phase-unwrapping errors for this type of work are a major issue. This point illustrates the importance of having ground truth information and a strong interaction with the end-user of the data, in order to properly understand the type and speed of the deformation that is to be measured, and thus determine the applicability of the technique. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Localization and pharmacological properties of the vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) receptors in rat circle of Willis arteries and in the arteries of pial-arachnoid membrane were studied using light microscope autoradiography combined with radioreceptor binding techniques. 2. [125I]-VIP was specifically bound to sections of rat cerebral arteries with a dissociation constant value of 0.5 nM and a binding site density of 80 fmol mg protein-1. Radioreceptor binding experiments revealed that the binding characteristics of [125I]-VIP were consistent with the labelling of specific VIP receptors. The rank order of potency of various substances tested to inhibit [125I]-VIP binding was the following: VIP greater than peptide histidine methionine greater than secretin greater than glucagon. 3. Light microscope autoradiography revealed the localization of [125I]-VIP binding sites in the medial layer of circle of Willis and pial arteries. Quantitative determination of [125I]-VIP binding site density in the different circle of Willis arteries demonstrated a higher accumulation of silver grains in the anterior than in the posterior cerebral arteries. Pial arteries are richer in VIP receptor sites than circle of Willis arteries. 4. These results suggest that the physiological neurogenic vasodilation elicited by VIP on cerebral arteries is mediated by the interaction with specific receptor sites located primarily within cerebral vessels structures involved in the control of cerebrovascular resistances.

International audience; The role that the oblique reverse fault projecting to the surface at the Bam-Baravat escarpment (BBE) played in the slip accommodation of the 2003 (Mw 6.5) Bam earthquake is still unclear, regardless of many seismological and geodetic studies following this event. In this study, we correlate pre- and post-seismic very high spatial resolution panchromatic satellite images to map coseismic surface deformation along the northern segment of the BBE, a few hundred meters east of the urban area of Bam. Using a new approach based on principal component analysis (PCA) on offset measurements, we obtain 1.8 ± 0.6 cm east slip component and 2-6 ± 0.6 cm south slip component along the fault segment. Our results are consistent with ground observations over the study area and support the idea of the reactivation of the shallow part of this fault segment.

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) induces the dilatation of cerebral blood vessels and increases cerebral blood flow (CBF). CRF receptor antagonists reduce ischaemic damage in the rat. In the present study, the expression of CRF around cerebral vessels has been investigated in the rat. No CRF immunoreactivity was identified around pial or intracerebral vessels in the absence of cerebral ischaemia. Four hours after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo), intensely CRF-positive blood vessels were evident on the ischaemic cortical surface and in the peri-infarct and infarct zone. Increased CRF immunoreactivity was also detected in swollen axons in subcortical white matter, caudate nucleus and lateral olfactory tract of the ipsilateral hemisphere, consistent with the failure of axonal transport. These data provide morphologic support for a role of CRF in the pathophysiology of cerebral ischaemia.

In the last few years there have been several important advances in the understanding of cerebrovascular disorder pathophysiology that have impacted on stroke management. The development of timely and effective treatment strategies was and is still considered a high priority issue. Therapeutic options dramatically increased both in the prevention and overall in the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke (AIS). At present, whereas neuroprotection remains experimental, intravenous (i.v.) thrombolysis is the only specific therapy effective in reducing mortality and disability associated with stroke. The efficacy and safety of the antithrombotic therapy in AIS treatment are not well established, and few issues in clinical stroke management are more controversial. However, some studies have brought new light and new doubts on the roles of these traditional therapies.

In this paper the results are presented of original research into the automatic and "intelligent" detection of breakpoints in Dissolved Oxygen (DO) profiles. The research has been based on a large body of data collected from laboratory SBRs operating on synthetic wastewater. Two different approaches were followed to identify the endpoints. The paper analyses and evaluates the results of automatic detection on the basis of geometric features in the DO profiles. This was followed by classification of the detected breakpoints using different soft computing techniques based on Neural Network (NN), Fuzzy Neural Network (FuNN) and Evolving Fuzzy Neural Network (EfuNN) software systems for breakpoint classification. A high rate of successful detection and classification was obtained with up to 96% of the decisions made correctly. In order to overcome the limitations of this system to adapt to dynamically changing process conditions, an intelligent control model was developed by a combination between an Evolving Fuzzy Neural Net (EfuNN) combined with a logic decision unit. This system has the ability to "learn on-the-fly" and adjust its response pattern in order to maintain a high rate of successful breakpoint detection under varying changing process conditions. This software system has been sucessfully embedded on a small programmable controller for integration into larger process control systems for the operation of SBR plants.

Cerebrovascular mortality represents 25% of all cardiovascular mortality. Defining the pathological mechanism of an episode of ischemic stroke is important for epidemiological, prognostic and overall therapeutic purposes. About 1/4 of ischemic strokes are defined as being of unknown cause. The use of transesophageal echocardiography for studying the aortic arch and thoracic aorta, revealed that aortic atheroma can be considered as an embolic source. Retrospective studies documented a significant prevalence of atheroma4 mm in the aortic arch in patients with previous stroke (15%); while prospective studies documented an increased risk for cardiovascular events in patients with plaque of =/4 mm in thickness at the level of the thoracic aorta compared with controls without these lesions: in particular, the incidence of recurrent stroke is 12%/year, while the incidence of cardiovascular events is 26%. Plaques defined unstable and at risk of embolic event are protrudent,4 mm in thickness, without calcification and have on their surface mobile thrombus. Embolization from a protrudent atheroma can have a iatrogenic cause, that is cardiac catheterization or placement of an intra-aortic balloon- pump or during cardiopulmonary bypass. The management of the subject with aortic atheroma is not well defined. Encouraging dates with the use of statins are from a recent meta-analysis also anticoagulant treatment versus antiplatelet treatment, reduced incidence of stroke in a significant manner. The surgical therapy of aortic endoarterectomy, has, at this moment, a limited indication, because is not without risk. Transesophageal ecocardiography is a method of choice for the study of the aortic atheroma and it should be done in every patient with stroke by unknown cause.

The vascular endothelium has a central role in regulating vasomotor tone, smooth muscle cell proliferation, platelet and leukocyte adhesion to the arterial wall, thrombosis and fibrinolysis. Disturbances of these endothelial functions have been suggested to be important in the early and advanced phases of atherosclerosis. The development of a simple, valid ultrasound-based method allowed to non-invasively evaluate endothelial function in a large number of individuals with traditional and non-traditional cardiovascular risk factors. The ultrasound technique measures changes in brachial artery diameter in response to an increase in blood flow (reactive hyperemia) and thus in shear stress, which causes endothelium-dependent dilation. This methodology is not yet perfect. The critical issues today involve the definition of "normal values", and standardized scanning and reading protocols to reduce variability.

During the past 20 years, several hundred peer-reviewed publications have documented the critical scientific steps in the determination of the usefulness of B-mode ultrasound measurements of the carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) for the detection and monitoring of artery wall atherosclerotic disease. Since the initial validation study of the IMT, carotid ultrasound IMT measurements have been performed in a large number of individuals with "traditional" and "non traditional" cardiovascular risk factors, have been shown to correlate with the severity of atherosclerotic lesions in other vascular territories, and have been used as outcome measures in clinical trials evaluating the various effects of treatment on the progression/regression of atherosclerosis. Furthermore, in longitudinal studies, carotid IMT has been shown to be an independent predictor of stroke and coronary events. However, before this powerful indicator of arterial wall atherosclerotic disease can be used in clinical settings as a routine test for the prediction of an individual's cardiovascular risk, some unresolved issues need to be addressed.

Over the last decade, it has become progressively clear that the most important mechanism responsible for acute coronary and cerebrovascular events is atherosclerotic plaque rupture with superimposed thrombus formation. Anatomo-pathological studies have shown that the risk of rupture depends on plaque type rather than plaque size. The determinants of carotid plaque vulnerability to rupture are similar to those responsible for coronary instability: 1) size and consistency of the lipid-rich atheromatous core, 2) ongoing inflammation and repair processes within the fibrous cap, and 3) the thickness of the fibrous cap covering the core. Unstable plaques contain a soft, lipid-rich core that is covered by a thin and inflamed cap of fibrous tissue. External factors such as mechanical and hemodynamic stresses may be important not only in precipitating disruption of vulnerable plaques, but also in their cellular differentiation. Several imaging techniques have been used to identify plaques at high risk of events. High-resolution B-mode ultrasound is a noninvasive, inexpensive technique which allows a characterization of carotid plaque dimension, internal structure and surface. Nevertheless, such a method is not perfect. The subjective evaluation of plaque morphology on B-mode ultrasound, the need of improving reproducibility and the lack of a uniform terminology are critical issues, which need to be addressed.

Arterial hypertension is associated with structural changes in the cardiovascular system. In hypertensives, a relationship has been found between left ventricular hypertrophy and carotid wall thickness, whereas the association with atherosclerotic plaque is less defined. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence and severity of carotid atherosclerosis in hypertensive patients with or without left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH).We studied 122 hypertensive subjects (62 men and 60 women), aged 60.1 +/- 12.1. Subjects were considered to have left ventricular hypertrophy if their left ventricular mass index (LVMI) at echocardiography exceeded 110 g/m2 in women and 135 g/m2 in men. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), external diameter and atherosclerotic plaques were evaluated by high resolution echo-color Doppler.IMT in both common carotid and bifurcation was significantly greater in hypertensives with LVH (p0.01), whereas external diameter did not differ significantly in the two groups. Increased presence (73.4 vs 32.8%) and severity (18.7 vs 5.2% for stenosis40%) of atherosclerotic plaque were found in the hypertrophic group. A weak but significant association was present among left ventricular mass index, ventricular wall thicknesses and carotid intima-media thickness, and plaque.In asymptomatic hypertensive subjects, LVH is associated with an increased risk of plaque formation and progression. Vascular hypertrophy may represent a distinct prognostic factor in hypertension and the association of cardiac and vascular hypertrophy may identify a group at high risk of future cardiovascular events.

Using data extracted from the Registry of the Stroke Unit located in the Department of Neurological Sciences of the University of Rome, we evaluated whether a sudden clinical onset was significantly a

We used a combination of radioreceptor binding and autoradiographic techniques to study the pharmacological characteristics and anatomical localization of [3H]-quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) binding sites in the human right coronary artery. The ligand was bound to sections of the human right coronary artery in a manner consistent with the labelling of muscarinic receptors. The addition of pirenzepine or of carbachol to the incubation medium to generate displacement curves was indicative of the presence of M1 and M2 receptors in the right coronary artery. Autoradiography showed the localization of M1 sites primarily in the medial layer of the right coronary artery. M2 sites were located primarily in the adventitia. No [3H]-QNB binding sites were observed in the endothelium. A possible role of muscarinic receptors in the pathogenesis of coronary vasospasm is discussed.