Contamination des moules (Mytilus galloprovincialis) des côtes de la région de Dakar par les Hydrocarbures Aromatiques Polycycliques (HAPs)

Dans ce travail, nous avons etudie la contamination par les Hydrocarbures Aromatiques Polycycliques des moules recoltees au niveau des cotes de la region de Dakar. Les sites ont ete choisis en fonction des activites qui y sont developpees. Lfextraction des HAPs a ete faite au moyen dfun extracteur Soxhlet avec un melange hexane/acetone et la purification est realisee avec lfoxyde dfaluminium. Nous avons analyse lfextraitpar un chromatographe de gaz couple a un spectrographe de masse (GC/MS). Les resultats montrent que les teneurs en hydrocarbures evoluent de facon croissante en fonction du temps. Au port de Dakar, lesconcentrations passent de 5308,67 en 2007 a 17973,37 ƒÊg/kg de poids sec, en 2008. Lfevolution des hydrocarbures suit la meme tendance dans les differents sites. Ainsi, le Port concentre la plus forte teneur, ensuite suivent les sites de Mbao et de Hann. Au niveau du port, la contamination proviendrait des depots de stockages des hydrocarbures mais egalement des operations de transbordement du petrole. La zone de Mbao estpolluee par la presence de nombreuses usines dont une raffinerie qui a ces canaux directement ouvert sur la plage. Le site de Hann abrite un canal qui draine les eaux usees domestiques mais aussi les huiles de rejet des stations services. Ainsi, les moules deviennent un bon indicateur de la qualite des eaux mais egalement un danger pour la population, grande consommatrice de cette espece. Ces etudes qui constituent un etat de lieu doivent etre poursuivies afin de fournir des donnees scientifiques de base aux decideurs politiques pour la recherche de solutions durables a la pollution de notre environnement

Antifungal hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC)-lipid composite edible coatings and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) to reduce postharvest decay and improve storability of ‘Mollar de Elche’ pomegranates

Pomegranate exhibits important postharvest quality losses that limit its storage potential, caused mainly by weight loss, chilling injury and fungal diseases. In this work, we evaluated the effect of novel hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) edible coatings (ECs) formulated with three different lipids (beeswax (BW), carnauba wax, and glycerol monostearate), as hydrophobic components, and two different GRAS salts (potassium bicarbonate (PBC) and sodium benzoate (SB)), as antifungal ingredients, to control weight loss and natural fungal decay of ‘Mollar de Elche’ pomegranates during storage at 20◦C. Afterwards, selected antifungal ECs and commercial modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) films were assayed alone or in combination to control natural decay and preserve fruit quality of pomegranates stored at 5◦C for 4 months plus 1 week at 20◦C. Results showed that ECs amended with SB reduced pomegranate latent infections caused by Botrytis cinerea and wound diseases caused by Penicillium spp. Moreover, MAP technologies were confirmed as an efficient mean to preserve freshness, prevent fruit shriveling and rind browning, and reduce fungal decay, thus extending storage life of pomegranates. The combination HPMC-BW-SB + MAP was the most promising treatment as it reduced weight loss and decay, without negatively affecting the fruit physicochemical and sensory quality

Two-Dimensional Self-Assembly Driven by Intermolecular Hydrogen Bonding in Benzodi-7-azaindole Molecules on Au(111)

The control of molecular structures at the nanoscale plays a critical role in the development of materials and applications. The adsorption of a polyheteroaromatic molecule with hydrogen bond donor and acceptor sites integrated in the conjugated structure itself, namely, benzodi-7-azaindole (BDAI), has been studied on Au(111). Intermolecular hydrogen bonding determines the formation of highly organized linear structures where surface chirality, resulting from the 2D confinement of the centrosymmetric molecules, is observed. Moreover, the structural features of the BDAI molecule lead to the formation of two differentiated arrangements with extended brick-wall and herringbone packing. A comprehensive experimental study that combines scanning tunneling microscopy, high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, and density functional theory theoretical calculations has been performed to fully characterize the 2D hydrogen-bonded domains and the on-surface thermal stability of the physisorbed material

Versatile Graphene-Based Platform for Robust Nanobiohybrid Interfaces

Technologically useful and robust graphene-based interfaces for devices require the introduction of highly selective, stable, and covalently bonded functionalities on the graphene surface, whilst essentially retaining the electronic properties of the pristine layer. This work demonstrates that highly controlled, ultrahigh vacuum covalent chemical functionalization of graphene sheets with a thiol-terminated molecule provides a robust and tunable platform for the development of hybrid nanostructures in different environments. We employ this facile strategy to covalently couple two representative systems of broad interest: metal nanoparticles, via S-metal bonds, and thiol-modified DNA aptamers, via disulfide bridges. Both systems, which have been characterized by a multi-technique approach, remain firmly anchored to the graphene surface even after several washing cycles. Atomic force microscopy images demonstrate that the conjugated aptamer retains the functionality required to recognize a target protein. This methodology opens a new route to the integration of high-quality graphene layers into diverse technological platforms, including plasmonics, optoelectronics, or biosensing. With respect to the latter, the viability of a thiol-functionalized chemical vapor deposition graphene-based solution-gated field-effect transistor array was assessed

Breast Cancer Mortality in Older and Younger Patients in California

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer in younger patients is reported to be more aggressive and associated with lower survival; however, factors associated with age-specific mortality differences have not been adequately assessed. METHODS: We used data from the population-based California Cancer Registry for 38,509 younger (18-49 years) and 121,573 older (50 years and older) women diagnosed with stage I to III breast cancer, 2005-2014. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to estimate breast cancer-specific mortality rate ratios (MRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), stratified by tumor subtype, guideline treatment, and care at an NCI-designated cancer center (NCICC). RESULTS: Older breast cancer patients at diagnosis experienced 17% higher disease-specific mortality than younger patients, after multivariable adjustment (MRR = 1.17; 95% CI, 1.11-1.23). Higher MRRs (95% CI) were observed for older versus younger patients with hormone receptor (HR)(+)/HER2(-) (1.24; 1.14-1.35) and HR(+)/HER2(+) (1.38; 1.17-1.62), but not for HR(-)/HER2(+) (HR = 0.94; 0.79-1.12) nor triple-negative breast cancers (1.01; 0.92-1.11). The higher mortality in older versus younger patients was diminished among patients who received guideline-concordant treatment (MRR = 1.06; 95% CI, 0.99-1.14) and reversed among those seen at an NCICC (MRR = 0.86; 95% CI, 0.73-1.01). CONCLUSIONS: Although younger women tend to be diagnosed with more aggressive breast cancers, adjusting for these aggressive features results in older patients having higher mortality than younger patients, with variations by age, tumor subtype, receipt of guideline treatment, and being cared for at an NCICC. IMPACT: Higher breast cancer mortality in older compared with younger women could partly be addressed by ensuring optimal treatment and comprehensive patient-centered care

Evaluation of the Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown in the Clinical Course of Migraine

Objective: Previous studies have demonstrated that emotional stress, changes in lifestyle habits and infections can worsen the clinical course of migraine. We hypothesize that changes in habits and medical care during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown might have worsened the clinical course of migraine. Design: Retrospective survey study collecting online responses from migraine patients followed-up by neurologists at three tertiary hospitals between June and July 2020. Methods: We used a web-based survey that included demographic data, clinical variables related with any headache (frequency) and migraine (subjective worsening, frequency, and intensity), lockdown, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Results: The response rate of the survey was 239/324 (73.8%). The final analysis included 222 subjects. Among them, 201/222 (90.5%) were women, aged 42.5 ± 12.0 (mean±SD). Subjective improvement of migraine during lockdown was reported in 31/222 participants (14.0%), while worsening in 105/222 (47.3%) and was associated with changes in migraine triggers such as stress related to going outdoors and intake of specific foods or drinks. Intensity of attacks increased in 67/222 patients (30.2%), and it was associated with the subjective worsening, female sex, recent insomnia, and use of acute medication during a headache. An increase in monthly days with any headache was observed in 105/222 patients (47.3%) and was related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress, older age and living with five or more people. Conclusions: Approximately half the migraine patients reported worsening of their usual pain during the lockdown. Worse clinical course in migraine patients was related to changes in triggers and the emotional impact of the lockdown. © 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Academy of Pain Medicine

Measurement of Total and Differential Cross Sections of Neutrino and Antineutrino Coherent π±\pi^\pm Production on Carbon

Neutrino induced coherent charged pion production on nuclei, $\overline{\nu}_\mu A\to\mu^\pm\pi^\mp A$, is a rare inelastic interaction in which the four-momentum squared transfered to the nucleus is nearly zero, leaving it intact. We identify such events in the scintillator of MINERvA by reconstructing |t| from the final state pion and muon momenta and by removing events with evidence of energetic nuclear recoil or production of other final state particles. We measure the total neutrino and antineutrino cross sections as a function of neutrino energy between 2 and 20 GeV and measure flux integrated differential cross sections as a function of $Q^2$, $E_\pi$ and $\theta_\pi$. The $Q^2$ dependence and equality of the neutrino and anti-neutrino cross-sections at finite $Q^2$ provide a confirmation of Adler's PCAC hypothesis