Identification and analysis of genomic islands in Burkholderia cenocepacia AU 1054 with emphasis on pathogenicity islands

published_or_final_versio

Irreducible representations of Upq[gl(2/2)]

The two-parametric quantum superalgebra $U_{pq}[gl(2/2)]$ and its representations are considered. All finite-dimensional irreducible representations of this quantum superalgebra can be constructed and classified into typical and nontypical ones according to a proposition proved in the present paper. This proposition is a nontrivial deformation from the one for the classical superalgebra gl(2/2), unlike the case of one-parametric deformations.Comment: Latex, 8 pages. A reference added in v.

Expression, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic study of human coronavirus HKU1 nonstructural protein 9

Human coronavirus HKU1 (HCoV-HKU1) belongs to coronavirus group II and encodes 16 nonstructural proteins (nsps) which mediate genome replication and transcription. Among these nsps, nsp9 has been shown to possess single-stranded DNA/RNA-binding properties. The gene that encodes HCoV-HKU1 nsp9 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli and the protein was subjected to crystallization trials. The crystals diffracted to 2.7 A resolution and belonged to space group P2(1)2(1)2, with unit-cell parameters a = 83.5, b = 88.4, c = 31.2 A, alpha = beta = gamma = 90 degrees and two molecules per asymmetric unit.published_or_final_versio

Neuronavigated high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for chronic post-stroke dysphagia: A randomized controlled study

published_or_final_versio

Your Proof Fails? Testing Helps to Find the Reason

Applying deductive verification to formally prove that a program respects its formal specification is a very complex and time-consuming task due in particular to the lack of feedback in case of proof failures. Along with a non-compliance between the code and its specification (due to an error in at least one of them), possible reasons of a proof failure include a missing or too weak specification for a called function or a loop, and lack of time or simply incapacity of the prover to finish a particular proof. This work proposes a new methodology where test generation helps to identify the reason of a proof failure and to exhibit a counter-example clearly illustrating the issue. We describe how to transform an annotated C program into C code suitable for testing and illustrate the benefits of the method on comprehensive examples. The method has been implemented in STADY, a plugin of the software analysis platform FRAMA-C. Initial experiments show that detecting non-compliances and contract weaknesses allows to precisely diagnose most proof failures.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure

Venular basement membranes contain specific matrix protein low expression regions that act as exit points for emigrating neutrophils.

Published versio

Inverse-designed diamond photonics

Diamond hosts optically active color centers with great promise in quantum computation, networking, and sensing. Realization of such applications is contingent upon the integration of color centers into photonic circuits. However, current diamond quantum optics experiments are restricted to single devices and few quantum emitters because fabrication constraints limit device functionalities, thus precluding color center integrated photonic circuits. In this work, we utilize inverse design methods to overcome constraints of cutting-edge diamond nanofabrication methods and fabricate compact and robust diamond devices with unique specifications. Our design method leverages advanced optimization techniques to search the full parameter space for fabricable device designs. We experimentally demonstrate inverse-designed photonic free-space interfaces as well as their scalable integration with two vastly different devices: classical photonic crystal cavities and inverse-designed waveguide-splitters. The multi-device integration capability and performance of our inverse-designed diamond platform represents a critical advancement toward integrated diamond quantum optical circuits

G0^0 Electronics and Data Acquisition (Forward-Angle Measurements)

The G$^0$ parity-violation experiment at Jefferson Lab (Newport News, VA) is designed to determine the contribution of strange/anti-strange quark pairs to the intrinsic properties of the proton. In the forward-angle part of the experiment, the asymmetry in the cross section was measured for $\vec{e}p$ elastic scattering by counting the recoil protons corresponding to the two beam-helicity states. Due to the high accuracy required on the asymmetry, the G$^0$ experiment was based on a custom experimental setup with its own associated electronics and data acquisition (DAQ) system. Highly specialized time-encoding electronics provided time-of-flight spectra for each detector for each helicity state. More conventional electronics was used for monitoring (mainly FastBus). The time-encoding electronics and the DAQ system have been designed to handle events at a mean rate of 2 MHz per detector with low deadtime and to minimize helicity-correlated systematic errors. In this paper, we outline the general architecture and the main features of the electronics and the DAQ system dedicated to G$^0$ forward-angle measurements.Comment: 35 pages. 17 figures. This article is to be submitted to NIM section A. It has been written with Latex using \documentclass{elsart}. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment In Press (2007

Experimental Measurement of the Berry Curvature from Anomalous Transport

Geometrical properties of energy bands underlie fascinating phenomena in a wide-range of systems, including solid-state materials, ultracold gases and photonics. Most famously, local geometrical characteristics like the Berry curvature can be related to global topological invariants such as those classifying quantum Hall states or topological insulators. Regardless of the band topology, however, any non-zero Berry curvature can have important consequences, such as in the semi-classical evolution of a wave packet. Here, we experimentally demonstrate for the first time that wave packet dynamics can be used to directly map out the Berry curvature. To this end, we use optical pulses in two coupled fibre loops to study the discrete time-evolution of a wave packet in a 1D geometrical "charge" pump, where the Berry curvature leads to an anomalous displacement of the wave packet under pumping. This is both the first direct observation of Berry curvature effects in an optical system, and, more generally, the proof-of-principle demonstration that semi-classical dynamics can serve as a high-resolution tool for mapping out geometrical properties

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica along the pig commodity chain in Vietnam

Foodborne diseases are a particularly important concern in the current Vietnamese context, shortly after accession to the WTO, not only for public health reasons, but also because of the global evolution of consumer demand and habits, the production chain and state regulations. Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica (Salmonella) is known as one of the most frequent food-borne zoonoses in the world and has been isolated in human and pork products in Vietnam, where pork represents 77% of total meat consumption. The aim of this paper is to describe Salmonella prevalence and epidemiology results along the pig commodity chain, at farm, slaughterhouses (both in Hanoi suburb, 206 samples and in slaughter plants connected with Nam Sach farmers in Hai Duong Province, 126 samples,) and for traditional raw meat fermented Vietnamese sausages 'nem chua'. The prevalences by fattening pigs at farm (19%) and in caecal content before slaughter (52% and 40%) were comparable to other studies, whereas the carcass contamination rates were much higher (95.7% and 67%). 35.7% of 213 'nem chua' samples were positive. Serotyping of these isolates suggested that Salmonella contamination is mainly originated from the pig meat itself, with a smaller contribution from the sausages' processing steps. The results confirm that slaughterhouses in Vietnam are the key point to be focused on for improving food safety in the pork commodity chain. The potential public health threat of Salmonella in pork products has been proven by the high prevalence found on 'nem chua' sausages. Further serotyping and genotyping of Hanoi slaughterhouses' isolates aimed to understand the ways of contamination of Salmonella at this important key step. The direct contamination of carcasses through faecal material from the same pig was not clear, but a direct faecal contamination was observed for the tank and the well water. Thus, our results suggested that the main source of carcass contamination was indirect, through the slaughtering environment. Moreover, the results may indicate that live pigs could be infected during lairage through contaminated water and environment, leading to a persistence of certain clones over longer periods. Since the majority (about 90%) of the pig production in Vietnam goes through small slaughter plants, we propose priority economical hygienic control measures adapted to small plants, that could largely decrease the carcass contamination rate. (Résumé d'auteur