895 research outputs found

    Les comportements patrimoniaux des ménages en France : évolutions et déterminants entre 2004 et 2010.

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    À la lumière des informations issues des enquêtes Patrimoine 2004 et 2010 de l’INSEE et des évaluations des comptes nationaux financiers établis par la Banque de France, l’article propose une première analyse des ajustements patrimoniaux des ménages français depuis 2007.épargne, ménages, portefeuilles, immobilier, risques.

    Non-monotonic field-dependence of the ZFC magnetization peak in some systems of magnetic nanoparticles

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    We have performed magnetic measurements on a diluted system of gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticles (~7nm), and on a ferritin sample. In both cases, the ZFC-peak presents a non-monotonic field dependence, as has already been reported in some experiments,and discussed as a possible evidence of resonant tunneling. Within simple assumptions, we derive expressions for the magnetization obtained in the usual ZFC, FC, TRM procedures. We point out that the ZFC-peak position is extremely sensitive to the width of the particle size distribution, and give some numerical estimates of this effect. We propose to combine the FC magnetization with a modified TRM measurement, a procedure which allows a more direct access to the barrier distribution in a field. The typical barrier values which are obtained with this method show a monotonic decrease for increasing fields, as expected from the simple effect of anisotropy barrier lowering, in contrast with the ZFC results. From our measurements on gamma-Fe2O3 particles, we show that the width of the effective barrier distribution is slightly increasing with the field, an effect which is sufficient for causing the observed initial increase of the ZFC-peak temperatures.Comment: LaTeX file 19 pages, 9 postscript figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. B (tentative schedule: Dec.97

    Lorenz function of Bi2_{2}Te3_{3}/Sb2_{2}Te3_{3} superlattices

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    Combining first principles density functional theory and semi-classical Boltzmann transport, the anisotropic Lorenz function was studied for thermoelectric Bi2_{2}Te3_{3}/Sb2_{2}Te3_{3} superlattices and their bulk constituents. It was found that already for the bulk materials Bi2_{2}Te3_{3} and Sb2_{2}Te3_{3}, the Lorenz function is not a pellucid function on charge carrier concentration and temperature. For electron-doped Bi2_{2}Te3_{3}/Sb2_{2}Te3_{3} superlattices large oscillatory deviations for the Lorenz function from the metallic limit were found even at high charge carrier concentrations. The latter can be referred to quantum well effects, which occur at distinct superlattice periods

    Small Angle Scattering by Fractal Aggregates: A Numerical Investigation of the Crossover Between the Fractal Regime and the Porod Regime

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    Fractal aggregates are built on a computer using off-lattice cluster-cluster aggregation models. The aggregates are made of spherical particles of different sizes distributed according to a Gaussian-like distribution characterised by a mean a0a_0 and a standard deviation σ\sigma. The wave vector dependent scattered intensity I(q)I(q) is computed in order to study the influence of the particle polydispersity on the crossover between the fractal regime and the Porod regime. It is shown that, given a0a_0, the location qcq_c of the crossover decreases as σ\sigma increases. The dependence of qcq_c on σ\sigma can be understood from the evolution of the shape of the center-to-center interparticle-distance distribution function.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages + 6 postscript figures, compressed using "uufiles", published in Phys. Rev. B 50, 1305 (1994

    Distinct RNA profiles in subpopulations of extracellular vesicles: apoptotic bodies, microvesicles and exosomes

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    Introduction: In recent years, there has been an exponential increase in the number of studies aiming to understand the biology of exosomes, as well as other extracellular vesicles. However, classification of membrane vesicles and the appropriate protocols for their isolation are still under intense discussion and investigation. When isolating vesicles, it is crucial to use systems that are able to separate them, to avoid cross-contamination. Method: EVs released from three different kinds of cell lines: HMC-1, TF-1 and BV-2 were isolated using two centrifugation-based protocols. In protocol 1, apoptotic bodies were collected at 2,000×g, followed by filtering the supernatant through 0.8 µm pores and pelleting of microvesicles at 12,200×g. In protocol 2, apoptotic bodies and microvesicles were collected together at 16,500×g, followed by filtering of the supernatant through 0.2 µm pores and pelleting of exosomes at 120,000×g. Extracellular vesicles were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy, flow cytometry and the RNA profiles were investigated using a Bioanalyzer®. Results: RNA profiles showed that ribosomal RNA was primary detectable in apoptotic bodies and smaller RNAs without prominent ribosomal RNA peaks in exosomes. In contrast, microvesicles contained little or no RNA except for microvesicles collected from TF-1 cell cultures. The different vesicle pellets showed highly different distribution of size, shape and electron density with typical apoptotic body, microvesicle and exosome characteristics when analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. Flow cytometry revealed the presence of CD63 and CD81 in all vesicles investigated, as well as CD9 except in the TF-1-derived vesicles, as these cells do not express CD9. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that centrifugation-based protocols are simple and fast systems to distinguish subpopulations of extracellular vesicles. Different vesicles show different RNA profiles and morphological characteristics, but they are indistinguishable using CD63-coated beads for flow cytometry analysis

    Contaminants in shrimp probiotics - a potential emerging threat to food security

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    This is the final version. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record. Data availability: The raw-read datasets were deposited in The European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) under accession no. PRJEB58029.Probiotics are used widely in shrimp aquaculture to improve growth and prevent disease; however, for the most part their safety and efficacy remains largely unknown. Shrimp aquaculture may be vulnerable to the negative effects of unsafe and ineffective commercial products, such as the transfer of shrimp and human pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes. Shrimp health may also be adversely affected by the use of these products, potentially leading to crop yield losses. Here, we used 16S amplicon sequencing to identify the bacterial genera present in commercial shrimp probiotics and assess this against their listed product content. We identified the presence of additional genera to the labelled contents including Escherichia/Shigella and Enterococcus that may pose a risk of disease to animals and potentially humans that come into contact with these products, as well as potentially acting as carriers for virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes. Our results suggest that some commercial shrimp probiotics may be misleading to consumers and potentially unsafe for shrimp, people and the environment. We highlight the risks that contaminated commercial probiotics may pose to food security and present a series of safety and efficacy considerations to support the sustainable use of commercial shrimp probiotics.Wellcome TrustWellcome TrustBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)University of ExeterCentre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas

    Distribution-based bisimulation for labelled Markov processes

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    In this paper we propose a (sub)distribution-based bisimulation for labelled Markov processes and compare it with earlier definitions of state and event bisimulation, which both only compare states. In contrast to those state-based bisimulations, our distribution bisimulation is weaker, but corresponds more closely to linear properties. We construct a logic and a metric to describe our distribution bisimulation and discuss linearity, continuity and compositional properties.Comment: Accepted by FORMATS 201

    Triangulations and Severi varieties

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    We consider the problem of constructing triangulations of projective planes over Hurwitz algebras with minimal numbers of vertices. We observe that the numbers of faces of each dimension must be equal to the dimensions of certain representations of the automorphism groups of the corresponding Severi varieties. We construct a complex involving these representations, which should be considered as a geometric version of the (putative) triangulations

    Expression of Foxp3 in colorectal cancer but not in Treg cells correlates with disease progression in patients with colorectal cancer

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    Background: Regulatory T cells (Treg) expressing the transcription factor forkhead-box protein P3 (Foxp3) have been identified to counteract anti-tumor immune responses during tumor progression. Besides, Foxp3 presentation by cancer cells itself may also allow them to evade from effector T-cell responses, resulting in a survival benefit of the tumor. For colorectal cancer (CRC) the clinical relevance of Foxp3 has not been evaluated in detail. Therefore the aim of this study was to study its impact in colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods and Findings: Gene and protein analysis of tumor tissues from patients with CRC was performed to quantify the expression of Foxp3 in tumor infiltrating Treg and colon cancer cells. The results were correlated with clinicopathological parameters and patients overall survival. Serial morphological analysis demonstrated Foxp3 to be expressed in cancer cells. High Foxp3 expression of the cancer cells was associated with poor prognosis compared to patients with low Foxp3 expression. In contrast, low and high Foxp3 level in tumor infiltrating Treg cells demonstrated no significant differences in overall patient survival. Conclusions: Our findings strongly suggest that Foxp3 expression mediated by cancer cells rather than by Treg cells contribute to disease progression
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