Home-based neuromuscular electrical stimulation improves exercise tolerance and health-related quality of life in patients with COPD

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Comparison of several commercial serologic kits and Em18 serology for detection of human alveolar echinococcosis.

International audienceThe aim of this study was to design the best serologic strategy for diagnosing human alveolar echinococcosis (AE) cases in medical laboratory routine procedures. By combining 2 screening techniques, indirect hemagglutination with Em(2plus)-ELISA and/or recEm18-ELISA, 46 of 47 AE cases were detected. The necessary confirmation of results is then obtained by using immunoblot (LDBIO-IB and/or recEm18-IB)

Six-minute stepper test: a valid clinical exercise tolerance test for COPD patients

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Glucose Regulates the Expression of the Farnesoid X Receptor in Liver

An increased prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia and gallbladder disease occurs in patients with diabetes or insulin resistance. Hypertriglyceridemia is positively associated to gall bladder disease risk. The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a bile acid–activated nuclear receptor that plays a key role in bile acid and triglyceride homeostasis. The mechanisms controlling FXR gene expression are poorly understood. This study evaluated whether FXR gene expression is regulated by alterations in glucose homeostasis. FXR expression was decreased in livers of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and normalized upon insulin supplementation. Concomitantly with diabetes progression, FXR expression also decreased in aging diabetic Zucker rats. In primary rat hepatocytes, D-glucose increased FXR mRNA in

Determination of the spin-lifetime anisotropy in graphene using oblique spin precession

We determine the spin-lifetime anisotropy of spin-polarized carriers in graphene. In contrast to prior approaches, our method does not require large out-of-plane magnetic fields and thus it is reliable for both low-and high-carrier densities. We first determine the in-plane spin lifetime by conventional spin precession measurements with magnetic fields perpendicular to the graphene plane. Then, to evaluate the out-of-plane spin lifetime, we implement spin precession measurements under oblique magnetic fields that generate an out-of-plane spin population. We find that the spin-lifetime anisotropy of graphene on silicon oxide is independent of carrier density and temperature down to 150 K, and much weaker than previously reported. Indeed, within the experimental uncertainty, the spin relaxation is isotropic. Altogether with the gate dependence of the spin lifetime, this indicates that the spin relaxation is driven by magnetic impurities or random spin-orbit or gauge fields.This research was partially supported by the European Research Council under Grant Agreement No. 308023 SPINBOUND, by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, MINECO (under Contract No. MAT2013-46785-P and Severo Ochoa No. SEV-2013-0295), and by the Secretariat for Universities and Research, Knowledge Department of the Generalitat de Catalunya. M.V.C., J.F.S. and J.C. acknowledge support from the Ramón y Cajal, Juan de la Cierva and Beatriu de Pinós programs, respectively. F.B. acknowledges funding from the People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013/ under REA Grant Agreement No. 624897. J.E.S. and J.V.d.V. acknowledge funding from the Methusalem Funding of the Flemish Government and the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO).Peer Reviewe

Spin relaxation anisotropy in graphene

Resumen del trabajo presentado a la 6th edition of Graphene Conference series, the largest European Event in Graphene and 2D Materials, celebrada en Genova (Italia) del 19 al 22 de abril de 2016In recent years, graphene-based spintronics have shown impressive progress. Spin relaxation lengths in graphene have been observed to be larger than several tens of micrometers and are already within the required range for technological applications. This has been accomplished by a steady improvement of the quality of graphene and of the interfaces with contacting materials. However, the microscopic mechanisms that determine the spin lifetime, and spin relaxation length, are still under heated debate. This lack of understanding hampers graphene spintronics in reaching its full potential, as for applications it is desirable to achieve full control of the spin dynamics. The spin relaxation anisotropy, which can be quantified by the ratio between the spin lifetimes for perpendicular and parallel spin components to the graphene plane, is a key property that can provide information on the microscopic mechanisms that is not accessible by other means. This is so because the anisotropy is determined by the preferential direction of the spin-orbit fields that may cause the spin relaxation. Despite such inherent interest, measurements of the spin lifetime anisotropy are scarce and limited to large carrier densities. Here, we demonstrate a conceptually new approach that overcomes this limitation. The concept relies on spin precession measurements under oblique magnetic fields that generate an out-of-plane spin population, which is further used to evaluate the out-of-plane spin lifetime. Our experiments demonstrate that the spin relaxation anisotropy of graphene on silicon oxide is independent of carrier density and temperature, and much lower than previously reported; indeed, within the experimental uncertainty, the spin relaxation is isotropic. Together with the gate dependence of the spin lifetime, this indicates that the spin relaxation is driven either by magnetic impurities or by randomly oriented spin-orbit fields, relative to the spin. These findings open the way for systematic anisotropy studies with tailored impurities and on different substrates, which are crucial to find a route to manipulate the spin lifetime in graphene and as such has important implications for both fundamental science and technological applications.Peer reviewe