Slope inequality for an arbitrary divisor

Let $f: S \longrightarrow C$ be a surjective morphism with connected fibers from a smooth complex projective surface $S$ to a smooth complex projective curve $C$ with general fiber $F$. In this paper, we develop a more general version of slope inequality for a data $(D, \mathcal{F})$ where $D$ is an arbitrary relatively effective divisor on $S$ and $\mathcal{F}$ is a locally free sub-sheaf of $f_{*}\mathcal{O}_{S}(D)$ without assuming any linear stability condition of $|D_{|_{F}}|$, we explain how the speciality of $D$ restricted to the general fiber play a role in the results. However, we compute some natural examples and give applications.Comment: Many changes and comments are very welcom

Stratégies pour la stabilisation de bactériophages contenus dans des pansements biodégradables pour traiter les infections à résistances multiples aux antibiotiques

En raison du problème croissant des bactéries résistantes aux antibiotiques émergeant dans le monde, la phagothérapie a attiré les efforts des scientifiques et l'intérêt public. C’est une thérapie par les bactériophages, communément appelés phages. Ce sont des virus qui infectent et se répliquent à l'intérieur des hôtes bactériens spécifiques, provoquant une bactériolyse. Bien que les recherches sur les phages et les expérimentations soient de plus en plus populaires, il manque toujours des informations sur les préparations pharmaceutiques et les conditions nécessaires au maintien de l'efficacité du traitement par phages. En général, les préparations de bactériophages appliquées à des fins thérapeutiques sont produites sous forme liquide, et la durée de stockage de ces produits à 4 °C est considérée comme limitée à un an. C’est alors que la stabilité à moyen et à long terme implique principalement l’utilisation de bactériophages lyophilisés. D’où l’objectif de ce projet d’optimiser l’application potentielle du procédé de lyophilisation dans le traitement commercial du cocktail SPK, actif contre les bactéries Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa et Klebsiella pneumoniae en présence de différents stabilisants. Suite à une série de tests, le Tréhalose, le Saccharose et le Mannitol, le Maltose, le PEG600 et la combinaison Pullulant/ Tréhalose nous ont permis de préserver la stabilité de nos phages avec une perte de moins d'un log après lyophilisation et moins de 2 logs après une année de stockage. L’application de notre cocktail SPK dans des patchs, a démontré qu’il résiste assez bien à l’encapsulation dans des matrices biodégradables et maintien sa stabilité avec une durée de relargage acceptable, pour le traitement des plaies de brûlures de peau infectées. Mots clés : stabilité, lyophilisation, phage, bactériophage, relargage, patch, excipient, lyoprotectant, cryoprotectant.----------ABSTRACT Due to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria emerging around the world, phage therapy has attracted scientists' efforts and the public interest. While phage research has been growing more popular, there is still a lack of information on pharmaceutical preparations and conditions for maintaining effectiveness for phage therapy. In general, phage preparations applied for therapeutic purposes are produced in liquid form, and the shelf life of these products at 4 ℃ is limited to one year. Medium and long-term stability mainly involve the use of lyophilized bacteriophages. Lyophilization methods vary significantly in both stabilizers and lyophilization cycles. Hence, the objective of this project to optimize the potential application of the lyophilisation process in the commercial treatment of SPK cocktail, active against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria, in presence of different stabilizers. Following a series of tests, Trehalose, Sucrose, Mannitol, Maltose, PEG600 and the combination Pullulant/ Trehalose allowed us to preserve the stability of our phages with a loss of less than one log directly after lyophilisation and fewer than 2 logs after a year of storage. The application of the SPK cocktail in patches, has demonstrated that it is quite resistant to encapsulation in biodegradable matrices and maintains its stability with an acceptable release time, for the treatment of infected skin burn wounds. Key words: stability, lyophilization, phage, bacteriophage, release, patch, excipient, lyoprotectant, cryoprotectant

Computer-Assisted Classification Patterns in Autoimmune Diagnostics: The AIDA Project

Antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) are significant biomarkers in the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases in humans, done by mean of Indirect ImmunoFluorescence (IIF)method, and performed by analyzing patterns and fluorescence intensity. This paper introduces the AIDA Project (autoimmunity: diagnosis assisted by computer) developed in the framework of an Italy-Tunisia cross-border cooperation and its preliminary results. A database of interpreted IIF images is being collected through the exchange of images and double reporting and a Gold Standard database, containing around 1000 double reported images, has been settled. The Gold Standard database is used for optimization of aCAD(Computer AidedDetection) solution and for the assessment of its added value, in order to be applied along with an Immunologist as a second Reader in detection of autoantibodies. This CAD system is able to identify on IIF images the fluorescence intensity and the fluorescence pattern. Preliminary results show that CAD, used as second Reader, appeared to perform better than Junior Immunologists and hence may significantly improve their efficacy; compared with two Junior Immunologists, the CAD system showed higher Intensity Accuracy (85,5% versus 66,0% and 66,0%), higher Patterns Accuracy (79,3% versus 48,0% and 66,2%), and higher Mean Class Accuracy (79,4% versus 56,7% and 64.2%)

Preliminary results of the project A.I.D.A. (Auto Immunity: Diagnosis Assisted by computer)

In this paper, are presented the preliminary results of the A.I.D.A. (Auto Immunity: Diagnosis Assisted by computer) project which is developed in the frame of the cross-border cooperation Italy-Tunisia. According to the main objectives of this project, a database of interpreted Indirect ImmunoFluorescence (IIF) images on HEp 2 cells is being collected thanks to the contribution of Italian and Tunisian experts involved in routine diagnosis of autoimmune diseases. Through exchanging images and double reporting; a Gold Standard database, containing around 1000 double reported IIF images with different patterns including negative tests, has been settled. This Gold Standard database has been used for optimization of a computing solution (CADComputer Aided Detection) and for assessment of its added value in order to be used along with an immunologist as a second reader in detection of auto antibodies for autoimmune disease diagnosis. From the preliminary results obtained, the CAD appeared more powerful than junior immunologists used as second readers and may significantly improve their efficacy

Genetic Susceptibility to Type 2 Diabetes: A Global Meta-Analysis Studying the Genetic Differences in Tunisian Populations

The present study is the first meta-analysis to evaluate type 2 diabetes (T2D)– associated polymorphisms in cohorts originated from several Tunisian regions. In fact, we evaluated the effect of seven polymorphisms in the following genes—PPARg (Pro12Ala), TNF° (-308A/G), ENPP1(K121Q), TCF7L2(rs7903146°C/T), MTHFR(C677T), ACE(I/D), and CAPN10(3R/2R)—on T2D risk, through a meta-analysis combining data of previous studies performed on Tunisian populations originating from the north, center, or south of the country. R statistics version 2.12.1 software was used to estimate the heterogeneity between studies. Pooled odds ratios were computed by the fixed-effects method of Mantel-Haenszel if no heterogeneity between studies exists. Despite the similarities founded in a number of loci, the Woolf test reported that the contributions of ENPP1 and ACE loci in T2D risk are dependent on the geographic origin of concerned groups, and this heterogeneity could be attributed not only to the variable contribution of the variant in T2D risk but also to diversities of genetic background between tested groups. Interestingly, observed heterogeneity highlighted founding concerning Y chromosome and the mitochondrial DNA about the genetic structure of Tunisian population and proves once again that Tunisians, like the north-Africans, are a mosaic of subpopulations, with significant differences in genetic structure. In homogeneous groups, we replicated the association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms of TCF7L2, MTHFR, CAPN 10, TNF°, and ACE genes with a T2D risk in the Tunisian population with OR ranging from 1.43 to 6.72. However, we reported an absence of the association of PPARg with T2D in the Tunisian population

The presence of elastic compression stockings reduces the fluid responsiveness of patients in the operating room

International audienceBACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate whether elastic compression stockings (ECS) can affect fluid responsiveness parameters before and during passive leg raising (PLR) maneuvers. METHODS: In the operating room (OR), we performed a prospective study including patients referred for cardiac surgery. Blood pressure (BP). Delta PP, heart rate (HR), central venous pressure (CVP), stroke volume (SV) and aortic blood flow (ABF) (by esophageal doppler) were measured according to four conditions: supine position without ECS (baseline 1), lower limbs raised to an angle of 45 degrees (PLR 1), returned to the supine position with ECS (baseline 2), then a second PLR maneuver with ECS was performed (PLR 2). RESULTS: Twenty patients were included. BP, SV, ABF and CVP increased significantly. Delta PP and HR decreased during PLR 1. At baseline 2, HR and Delta PP decreased significantly compared to baseline 1. During PLR 2, increase of SV (4% [9]) and ABF (4% [9]), and the decrease of Delta PP (-19% [104]) were significantly lower than those observed at PLR 1 (7% [21] P=0.05; 9% [8] P=0.02 and -66% [40] P=0.02, respectively). Eleven patients presented a Delta PP >= 13% at baseline 1. Only 1 patient still presented a Delta PP >= 13% with ECS at baseline 2. Only 3/9 patients with an increase of ABF >= 10% and 2/11 patients with an increase of PP >= 12% during the PLR 1 presented similar results during PLR 2. CONCLUSIONS: In the OR, ECS provoke a self-fluid loading increasing ABF, decreasing Delta PP and PLR response. The presence of ECS should be considered when managing hemodynamic parameters of patients

Relationship of Thyroid Function with Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in Euthyroid Tunisian Subjects

International audienceObjectives. Although a relationship between obesity and metabolic consequences with thyroid function has been reported, the underlying pathogenesis is not completely known. In the current study, we evaluated the thyroid function in obese and/or diabetic patients compared to healthy normal weight peers, exploring the possible association between components of metabolic syndrome and thyroid function parameters. Methods. We recruited 108 subjects (56 male and 52 female). In all subjects, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4), fasting plasma levels of insulin and glucose, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance, and obesity parameters were assessed. Results. We found that circulating levels of TSH and FT4 were significantly increased in overweight and obese subjects. However, the data do not reveal any change of these hormones in diabetics. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that TSH was directly associated with both obesity and insulin resistance parameters (p < 0.05). FT4 was negatively associated only with obesity parameters (p < 0.05). Conclusions. Our data strongly support that the changes of thyroid hormones may be influenced by adiposity and its metabolic consequences, such as insulin resistance. This relationship can be explained by a cross talk between adipose tissue release and thyroid function. Nevertheless, metformin treatment seems to affect thyroid function in diabetic patients by maintaining plasma thyrotropin levels to subnormal levels

Interchangeability of right ventricular longitudinal shortening fraction assessed by transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography in the perioperative setting: A prospective study

International audienceBackground Conventional transthoracic (TTE) and transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) parameters assessing right ventricle (RV) systolic function are daily used assuming their clinical interchangeability. RV longitudinal shortening fraction (RV-LSF) is a two-dimensional speckle tracking parameter used to assess RV systolic function. RV-LSF is based on tricuspid annular displacement analysis and could be measured with TTE or TEE. Objective The aim of the study was to determine if RV-LSF TTE and RV-LSF TEE measurements were interchangeable in the perioperative setting. Methods Prospective perioperative TTE and TEE echocardiography were performed under general anesthesia during scheduled cardiac surgery in 90 patients. RV-LSF was measured by semi-automatic software. Comparisons were performed using Pearson correlation and Bland-Altman plots. RV-LSF clinical agreement was determined as a range of −5 to 5%. Results Of the 114 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 90 were included. The mean preoperative RV-LSF TTE was 20.4 ± 4.3 and 21.1 ± 4.1% for RV-LSF TEE. The agreement between RV-LSF measurements was excellent, with a bias at −0.61 and limits of agreement of −4.18 to 2.97 %. All measurements fell within the determined clinical agreement interval in the Bland-Altman plot. Linear regression analysis showed a high correlation between RV-LSF TTE and RV-LSF TEE measurement (r = 0.9; confidence interval [CI] 95%: [0.87–0.94], p &lt; 0.001). Conclusion RV-LSF TTE and RV-LSF TEE measurements are interchangeable, allowing RV-LSF to be a helpful parameter for assessing perioperative changes in RV systolic function. NCT NCT05404737. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05404737

Computer-Assisted Classification Patterns in Autoimmune Diagnostics: The AIDA Project

Antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) are significant biomarkers in the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases in humans, done by mean of Indirect ImmunoFluorescence (IIF) method, and performed by analyzing patterns and fluorescence intensity. This paper introduces the AIDA Project (autoimmunity: diagnosis assisted by computer) developed in the framework of an Italy-Tunisia cross-border cooperation and its preliminary results. A database of interpreted IIF images is being collected through the exchange of images and double reporting and a Gold Standard database, containing around 1000 double reported images, has been settled. The Gold Standard database is used for optimization of a CAD (Computer Aided Detection) solution and for the assessment of its added value, in order to be applied along with an Immunologist as a second Reader in detection of autoantibodies. This CAD system is able to identify on IIF images the fluorescence intensity and the fluorescence pattern. Preliminary results show that CAD, used as second Reader, appeared to perform better than Junior Immunologists and hence may significantly improve their efficacy; compared with two Junior Immunologists, the CAD system showed higher Intensity Accuracy (85,5% versus 66,0% and 66,0%), higher Patterns Accuracy (79,3% versus 48,0% and 66,2%), and higher Mean Class Accuracy (79,4% versus 56,7% and 64.2%)