Nonlinear optical response of a gold surface in the visible range: A study by two-color sum-frequency generation spectroscopy. I. Experimental determination

International audienceWe experimentally determine the effective nonlinear second-order susceptibility of gold over the visible spectral range. To reach that goal, we probe by vibrational two-color sum-frequency generation spectroscopy the methyl stretching region of a dodecanethiol self-assembled monolayer adsorbed on a gold film. The sum-frequency generation spectra show a remarkable shape reversal when the visible probe wavelength is tuned from 435 to 705 nm. After correcting from Fresnel effects, the methyl stretching vibrations serve as an internal reference, allowing to extract the dispersion of the absolute phase and relative amplitude of the effective nonlinear optical response of gold in the visible range. Published by AIP Publishing. https://doi

Quality Enhancement of Highly Degraded Music Using Deep Learning-Based Prediction Models for Lost Frequencies

Audio quality degradation can have many causes. For musical applications, this fragmentation may lead to highly unpleasant experiences. Restoration algorithms may be employed to reconstruct missing parts of the audio in a similar way as for image reconstruction-in an approach called audio inpainting. Current state-of-The art methods for audio inpainting cover limited scenarios, with well-defined gap windows and little variety of musical genres. In this work, we propose a Deep-Learning-based (DL-based) method for audio inpainting accompanied by a dataset with random fragmentation conditions that approximate real impairment situations. The dataset was collected using tracks from different music genres to provide a good signal variability. Our best model improved the quality of all musical genres, obtaining an average of 12.9 dB of PSNR, although it worked better for musical genres in which acoustic instruments are predominant

Microparticles from patients with metabolic syndrome induce in vivo endothelial dysfunction and vascular hypo-reactivity by increasing oxidative and nitrosative stresses in mouse aorta

National audienc

Estrogenic and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of a Steroidal Indoxyl

The estrogenic and anti-inflammatory activities of 3-methoxy-16, 17-seco-16-norestra-1,3,5-trien-15-(2'-indoxyliden)-17-oic acid is reported. After intraperitoneal administration, the dose of this compound required to reduce swelling of the rat paw by 50% (ED50) was 14.1 mg/kg using the carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema anti-inflammatory assay method. Indomethacin had an ED50 of 3.2 mg/kg in this assay while dexamethasone had an ED50 of 1.7 mg/kg. The estrogenic activity of the compound after intramuscular administration in rats was 0.72 relative to diethylstilbestrol, when the two compounds were assayed at three dose levels of 1.0, 0.3 and 0.1 mg/kg. Key Words: Steroidal indoxyl, synthesis, estrogenic, anti-inflammatory East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol.5(3) 2002: 44-4

A Cluster-Matching-Based Method for Video Face Recognition

Face recognition systems are present in many modern solutions and thousands of applications in our daily lives. However, current solutions are not easily scalable, especially when it comes to the addition of new targeted people. We propose a cluster-matching-based approach for face recognition in video. In our approach, we use unsupervised learning to cluster the faces present in both the dataset and targeted videos selected for face recognition. Moreover, we design a cluster matching heuristic to associate clusters in both sets that is also capable of identifying when a face belongs to a non-registered person. Our method has achieved a recall of 99.435% and a precision of 99.131% in the task of video face recognition. Besides performing face recognition, it can also be used to determine the video segments where each person is present.Comment: 13 page

Exosomes released by EBV-infected nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells convey the viral Latent Membrane Protein 1 and the immunomodulatory protein galectin 9

BACKGROUND: Nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC) are consistently associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Their malignant epithelial cells contain the viral genome and express several antigenic viral proteins. However, the mechanisms of immune escape in NPCs are still poorly understood. EBV-transformed B-cells have been reported to release exosomes carrying the EBV-encoded latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) which has T-cell inhibitory activity. Although this report suggested that NPC cells could also produce exosomes carrying immunosuppressive proteins, this hypothesis has remained so far untested. METHODS: Malignant epithelial cells derived from NPC xenografts – LMP1-positive (C15) or negative (C17) – were used to prepare conditioned culture medium. Various microparticles and vesicles released in the culture medium were collected and fractionated by differential centrifugation. Exosomes collected in the last centrifugation step were further purified by immunomagnetic capture on beads carrying antibody directed to HLA class II molecules. Purified exosomes were visualized by electron microscopy and analysed by western blotting. The T-cell inhibitory activities of recombinant LMP1 and galectin 9 were assessed on peripheral blood mononuclear cells activated by CD3/CD28 cross-linking. RESULTS: HLA-class II-positive exosomes purified from C15 and C17 cell supernatants were containing either LMP1 and galectin 9 (C15) or galectin 9 only (C17). Recombinant LMP1 induced a strong inhibition of T-cell proliferation (IC50 = 0.17 nM). In contrast recombinant galectin 9 had a weaker inhibitory effect (IC50 = 46 nM) with no synergy with LMP1. CONCLUSION: This study provides the proof of concept that NPC cells can release HLA class-II positive exosomes containing galectin 9 and/or LMP1. It confirms that the LMP1 molecule has intrinsic T-cell inhibitory activity. These findings will encourage investigations of tumor exosomes in the blood of NPC patients and assessment of their effects on various types of target cells

A Guide to Noxious Plants as an Educational Resource of Veterinary Medicine Students

The School of Veterinary UNRN is located in the town of Choele Choel (39° 17\u27S, 65° 39\u27W), in Northern Patagonia, Argentina. The climate is semi-arid with a historical average annual continental rainfall of 303 mm, with marked daily and seasonal temperature ranges. However, the type of vegetation that can be found in the area ranges fromxerophytic shrubs to hydrophytic vegetation because the arid plateau is crossed by the broad valley of Río Negro. Due to the topographic distribution of agricultural and livestock farms, the toxic plants for livestock may be found in the irrigated valleys or arid shrubby camps

CD44+ cancer stem-like cells in EBV-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

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