Spectrophotometric analysis of thrombolytic activity: SATA assay

Introduction: Measurement of thrombolytic activity i.e. clot lysis is crucial for research and development of novel thrombolytics. It is also a key factor in assessment of the effectiveness of conventionally used thrombolytic agents in the clinic, which are the choice effective therapies for myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. Previous methods used for the assessment of thrombolytic activity are often associated with some drawbacks such as being costly, time-consuming, complication and low accuracy. Here, we introduce a simple, economic, relatively accurate and fast method of spectrophotometric analysis of thrombolytic activity (SATA) assay, standardized by tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which can quantitatively measure in vitro thrombolytic activity. Methods: Blood clots were formed, uniformly, by mixing citrated whole blood with partial thromboplastin time (PTT) reagent, together with calcium chloride. Then, designated concentrations of tPA were added to the samples, and the released red blood cells from each clot were quantified using spectrophotometry (λmax= 405 nm) as an indicator of thrombolytic activity. The accuracy of the method was tested by assessment of dose-responsibility against R2 value obtained by linear equation and measurement of limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ). The SATA assay was validated in comparison with some currently used techniques. Results: A linear relationship was obtained between different concentrations of tPA versus the spectrophotometric absorbance of the related dilutions of lysed clots, at λmax = 405 nm. Calculated R2 values were greater than 0.9; with LOD of 0.90 μg/mL of tPA (436.50IU) and LOQ of 2.99 μg/mL of tPA (1450.15IU). Conclusions: Conclusively, the SATA assay is a very simple quantitative method with repeatable and reproducible results for estimating the potency of an unknown thrombolytic agent, and calculating the activity as delicate as 1 μg/mL of tPA (485 IU/mL of thrombolytic dose). © 2018 The Author(s)

How to make inhabitants of Nyon walk more

Nowadays, Mobility becomes more and more important in a city long run development. The traffic jams created by the cars associated to the increase in the population is a challenging problem for every city. The challenges concern several areas, energy, pollution and security. Among them mobility plays a key roll, it connects everything and implies several actors. If a city would like to grow, attract companies and satisfy their inhabitants, it must offer appropriate mobility services. Health is also a major topic, overweight people are increasing seriously and the population is getting older and older and that will bring new challenges for the mobility. It’s important to focus on the people’s health and pedestrian mobility is a good weapon against it. Walking is the best way to get people moving, it maintains our body fit, it doesn’t make any noise and is pollution free. Unfortunately decades of transportation improvements, tends to remove people’s habit to walk, since the Human is lazy. Nyon is growing, since a few years several International companies started to come to Nyon and the construction of a new neighbourhood just started. In order to keep a nice living environment and a good quality life, the city needs to manage the future mobility services intelligently. The city is already a victim of the amount of cars going through the centre, causing important traffic jams. This traffic problem forces the city to re design all the bus lines in order to maintain an efficient service. Around the world several companies and cities have already started the “fight” for mobility. Some good practices and efficient policies show that everybody benefits from getting active. Some good examples for improving mobility are shown in the literature. This paper provides a study of the walking practices in Nyon. Two surveys were conducted first a qualitative one and second a quantitative one. The objective was to grab the inhabitant’s feelings about the mobility, especially the pedestrian one. With this data we show some topics and areas to focus on. For example, the study shows that the people living in Nyon are missing some pedestrian streets and parks. They would like to walk in a pedestrian friendly environment with adequate infrastructures. Consequently without rebuilding the entire city we gave the city of Nyon a recommendation to push people to walk more and to create a friendly walking environment. This recommendation implies most of the time, the participation of the inhabitants to break their bad habits and to get involvement in a long term

Adopting an external focus of attention alters intracortical inhibition within the primary motor cortex

Although it is well established that an external (EF) compared to an internal (IF) or neutral focus of attention enhances motor performance, little is known about the underlying neural mechanisms. This study aimed to clarify whether the focus of attention influences not only motor performance but also activity of the primary motor cortex (M1) when executing identical fatiguing tasks of the right index finger (first dorsal interosseous). Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) at intensities below motor threshold was applied over M1 to assess and compare the excitability of intracortical inhibitory circuits.Methods: In session 1, 14 subjects performed an isometric finger abduction at 30% of their maximal force to measure the time to task failure (TTF) with either an IF or EF. In session 2, the same task was performed with the other focus. In sessions 3 and 4, subthreshold TMS (subTMS) and paired-pulse TMS were applied to the contralateral M1 to compare the activity of cortical inhibitory circuits within M1 during EF and IF.Results: With an EF, TTF was significantly prolonged (P = 0.01), subTMS-induced electromyographical suppression enhanced (P = 0.001) and short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) increased (P = 0.004).Conclusion: The level of intracortical inhibition was previously shown to influence motor performance. Our data shed new light on the ability to instantly modulate the activity of inhibitory circuits within M1 by changing the type of attentional focus. The increased inhibition with EF might contribute to the better movement efficiency, which is generally associated with focusing externally

Aborder la mort à l'école primaire

La mort est un sujet tabou dans notre société actuelle et celle-ci s’est éloignée de notre quotidien. Cependant, celle-ci peut surgir à n’importe quel moment et de manière imprévisible. Le rôle de l’école et celui de l’enseignant sont alors très importants, car ils doivent être préparés à cette éventualité, que ce soit de la simple discussion à ce sujet ou lors d’une situation de deuil. Ce travail va alors permettre la mise en évidence de la place de la mort à l’école primaire dans le canton de Neuchâtel, ainsi que la place des enseignants et des outils mis en place pour aborder la mort à l’école