This paper investigates a simple numerical method, based on the release of a pressurized spherical air volume, to predict or reproduce the main characteristics of the blast environment from the ...detonation of solid or gaseous charges. This approach aims to give an alternative to the use of a steady-state detonation model and a Jones–Wilkins–Lee equation of state to describe the expansion of the detonation products, especially when the explosive parameters are unknown and a TNT equivalent is used. The validity of the proposed approach is assessed through the comparison of predicted overpressure and impulse at different distances from the explosion with that of TNT and stoichiometric propane–oxygen explosions. It is also shown that, for gaseous detonations, a better agreement is obtained with the rationally optimized compressed balloon than with the use of a Jones–Wilkins–Lee model and a TNT equivalent mass.
•Analytical method to identify and quantify AS and AES in marine sediments.•Evaluation of concentration levels of AS and AES in marine sediments near wastewater discharge points.•Statistical study of ...the presence of AS and AES in marine sediments.
Alcohol sulfates (AS) and alcohol ethoxysulfates (AES) are all High Production Volume and ‘down-the-drain’ chemicals used globally in detergent and personal care products, resulting in low levels ultimately released to the environment via wastewater treatment plant effluents. They have a strong affinity for sorption to sediments. Almost 50% of Tenerife Island surface area is environmentally protected. Therefore, determination of concentration levels of AS/AES in marine sediments near wastewater discharge points along the coast of the Island is of interest. These data were obtained after pressurized liquid extraction and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Short chains of AES and especially of AS dominated the homologue distribution for AES. The Principal Components Analysis was used. The results showed that the sources of AS and AES were the same and that both compounds exhibit similar behavior. Three different patterns in the distribution for homologues and ethoxymers were found.
Venous leg ulcers (VLUs) are the most prevalent chronic wounds in western countries with a heavy socioeconomic impact. Compression therapy is the etiologic treatment of VLU but until now no wound ...dressing has been shown to be more effective than another. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a new dressing in the management of VLU. Adult patients presenting a noninfected VLU and receiving effective compression therapy were enrolled in this randomized, controlled, double‐blind trial. The VLUs were assessed every 2 weeks for 8 weeks. The primary study outcome was the relative Wound Area Reduction (WAR, in %), and the secondary objectives were absolute WAR, healing rate, and percentage of wounds with >40% surface area reduction. One hundred eighty‐seven patients were randomly allocated to treatment groups. Median WAR was 58.3% in the Lipido‐Colloid Technology‐Nano‐OligoSaccharide Factor (TLC‐NOSF) dressing group (test group) and 31.6% in the TLC dressing group (control group) (difference: −26.7%; 95% confidence interval: −38.3 to −15.1%; p = 0.002). All other efficacy outcomes were also significant in favor of the TLC‐NOSF dressing group. Clinical outcomes for patients treated with the new dressing are superior to those patients treated with the TLC dressing (without NOSF compound), suggesting a strong promotion of the VLU healing process.
Radiotherapy has the widest application to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients. Factors associated with DNA damage repair have been shown to function in cell radiosensitivity. Human ...positive cofactor 4 (PC4) has a role in nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) and is involved in DNA damage repair. However, the clinical significance and biological role of PC4 in cancer progression and cancer cellular responses to chemoradiotherapy (CRT) remain largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential roles of PC4 in the radiosensitivity of ESCC. In this study, we showed that knockdown of PC4 substantially increased ESCC cell sensitivity to ionizing radiation (IR) both in vitro and in vivo and enhanced radiation-induced apoptosis and mitotic catastrophe (MC). Importantly, we demonstrated that silencing of PC4 suppressed NHEJ by downregulating the expression of XLF in ESCC cells, whereas reconstituting the expression of XLF protein in the PC4-knockdown ESCC cells restored NHEJ activity and radioresistance. Moreover, high expression of PC4 positively correlated with ESCC resistance to CRT and was an independent predictor for short disease-specific survival of ESCC patients in both of our cohorts. These findings suggest that PC4 protects ESCC cells from IR-induced death by enhancing the NHEJ-promoting activity of XLF and could be used as a novel radiosensitivity predictor and a promising therapeutic target for ESCCs.
Chlorella variabilis NC64A, a unicellular photosynthetic green alga (Trebouxiophyceae), is an intracellular photobiont of Paramecium bursaria and a model system for studying virus/algal interactions. ...We sequenced its 46-Mb nuclear genome, revealing an expansion of protein families that could have participated in adaptation to symbiosis. NC64A exhibits variations in GC content across its genome that correlate with global expression level, average intron size, and codon usage bias. Although Chlorella species have been assumed to be asexual and nonmotile, the NC64A genome encodes all the known meiosis-specific proteins and a subset of proteins found in flagella. We hypothesize that Chlorella might have retained a flagella-derived structure that could be involved in sexual reproduction. Furthermore, a survey of phytohormone pathways in chlorophyte algae identified algal orthologs of Arabidopsis thaliana genes involved in hormone biosynthesis and signaling, suggesting that these functions were established prior to the evolution of land plants. We show that the ability of Chlorella to produce chitinous cell walls likely resulted from the capture of metabolic genes by horizontal gene transfer from algal viruses, prokaryotes, or fungi. Analysis of the NC64A genome substantially advances our understanding of the green lineage evolution, including the genomic interplay with viruses and symbiosis between eukaryotes.
Immune restoration following combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) questions the maintenance of prophylaxis among HIV-infected patients with cryptococcosis.
To describe the long-term outcome ...after the diagnosis of cryptococcosis at the cART era.
Multicentre cohort of patients with a diagnosis of cryptococcosis between 1996 and 2000, follow-up until December 2002. Comparison with a historical cohort (1990-1994) for survival.
Eighty-four French AIDS clinical centres.
Two-hundred and forty HIV-infected adult patients at the cART era and 149 at the pre-cART era experiencing a first episode of culture-confirmed cryptococcosis.
In the cART era, 82/189 patients surviving more than 3 months after initiation of antifungal therapy had their maintenance therapy interrupted with a subsequent median follow-up of 19 months. Their relapse rate per 100 person-years was 0.9 95% confidence interval (CI),0.0-2.0. When considering the whole cART cohort, probability of reaching negative serum cryptococcal antigen was 71% after 48 months of follow-up. A CD4 cell count < 100/microl relative risk (RR), 5.5; 95% CI, 1.3-22.2, antifungal therapy < 3 months over the past 6 months RR, 5.0; 95% CI, 1.1-22.3 and serum cryptococcal antigen titre > or = 1/512 RR, 3.5; 95% CI, 1.1-10.8 were associated with a higher rate of cryptococcosis relapse. The mortality rate per 100 person-years was 15.3 95% CI,12.2-18.4 in the cART era versus 63.8 95% CI,53.0-74.9 in the pre-cART era although early mortality did not differ between the two periods.
Overall survival after cryptococcosis has dramatically improved at the cART era. Immune restoration and low serum cryptococcal antigen titres are associated with lower cryptococcosis relapse rates.
Summary Objectives Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system characterized by severe attacks of optic neuritis and myelitis. Brain was classically, unlike in ...multiple sclerosis (MS), spared. Nevertheless recent studies showed that brain lesions can be seen with MRI. We studied the diffusion characteristics of normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) and abnormal white matter in NMO patients compared with NAWM in healthy subjects. Patients and methods Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans of the brain and spinal cord were obtained from 25 patients with NMO and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. Region of interest (ROI) analysis of the apparent diffusivity coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) was performed in brain NAWM (optic radiations, corpus callosum CC and anterior and posterior limbs of the internal capsule IC) and in spinal cord NAWM and in lesions. Results ADC was increased and FA decreased in NMO patients in the posterior limb of the IC in the optic radiations and in spinal cord NAWM. FA was lower in spinal cord lesions. In contrast, there was no difference between the two groups in the anterior limb of the IC nor in the CC. Conclusion These results suggest that DTI abnormalities are very severe in NMO spinal cord lesions. In our study, DTI abnormalities in NAWM were restricted to optic radiations and cortico-spinal tracts, suggesting secondary Wallerian degeneration. In contrast, NAWM outside these tracts (CC and anterior IC) remained normal suggesting that, unlike what is observed in MS, there is no infra-lesional abnormality in NMO.
Abstract
We discuss the synergies between heliospheric and dust science, the open science questions, the technological endeavours, and programmatic aspects that are important to maintain or develop ...in the decade to come. In particular, we illustrate how we can use interstellar dust in the solar system as a tracer for the (dynamic) heliosphere properties, and emphasize the fairly unexplored, but potentially important science question of the role of cosmic dust in heliospheric and astrospheric physics. We show that an interstellar probe mission with a dedicated dust suite would bring unprecedented advances to interstellar dust research, and can also contribute – through measuring dust – to heliospheric science. This can, in particular, be done well if we work in synergy with other missions inside the solar system, thereby using multiple vantage points in space to measure the dust as it ‘rolls’ into the heliosphere. Such synergies between missions inside the solar system and far out are crucial for disentangling the spatially and temporally varying dust flow. Finally, we highlight the relevant instrumentation and its suitability for contributing to finding answers to the research questions.
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