Shell and glass beads from the tombs of Kindoki, Mbanza Nsundi, Lower Congo

The ancient Kingdom of Kongo originated in Central Africa in the 14th century. In the 15th century, the Portuguese organized tight contacts with the Bakongo. From then on European goods gained new significance in the local culture and even found their way into funerary rites. Among the most important grave goods in the Kingdom of Kongo were shell and glass beads. They occur in many tombs and symbolize wealth, status, or femininity. At the burial site of Kindoki, linked with the former capital of Kongo’s Nsundi province, a great number of shell and glass beads were found together with symbols of power in tombs attributed primarily to the first half of the 19th century. Determining the origin of these beads and their use in the Kongo Kingdom leads to interesting insights into the social and economic organization of the old Bakongo society, their beliefs, and the symbolic meaning of the beads

Behaviour of free falling viscoelastic liquid jets

[EN] In a recent work, a protocol to measure the relaxation time of dilute polymer solutions, known to be challenging, has been established [1]. This protocol is based on a 2D multi-scale description of free-falling low velocity viscoelastic liquid jets. Although the relaxation time reached an asymptotic value for high jet velocities, a significant dependence with the jet velocity is observed for low velocities. The present work reconsiders these previous experimental data using a 3D multi-scale analysis in order to identify the origin of the dependence between the relaxation time and the jet velocity. The 3D analysis demonstrates the importance of a velocity–dependent coalescence mechanism in the jet behaviour. Thanks to a simple model of jet deformation it is demonstrated that this coalescence mechanism prevents the elasto-capillary contraction of the smallest scales from occurring when the jet velocity is reduced.The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Frend National Research Agency (ANR) through the program Investissement d’Avenir (ANR-10 LABX-09-01), LABEX EMC3Tirel, C.; Renoult, M.; Dumouchel, C.; Blaisot, J. (2017). Behaviour of free falling viscoelastic liquid jets. En Ilass Europe. 28th european conference on Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 241-248. https://doi.org/10.4995/ILASS2017.2017.4700OCS24124

Exploring with [18F]UCB-H the in vivo cariations in SV2A expression through the kainic acid rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy

Purpose The main purpose of this study was to understand how the positron emission tomography (PET) measure of the synaptic vesicle 2A (SV2A) protein varies in vivo during the development of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in the kainic acid rat model. Procedures Twenty Sprague Dawley male rats were administered with multiple systemic doses of saline (control group, n = 5) or kainic acid (5 mg/kg/injection, epileptic group, n = 15). Both groups were scanned at the four phases of TLE (early, latent, transition, and chronic phase) with the [F-18]UCB-H PET radiotracer and T2-structural magnetic resonance imaging. At the end of the scans (3 months post-status epilepticus), rats were monitored for 7 days with electroencephalography for the detection of spontaneous electrographic seizures. Finally, the immunofluorescence staining for SV2A expression was performed. Results Control rats presented a significant increase in [F-18]UCB-H binding at the last two scans, compared with the first ones (p < 0.001). This increase existed but was lower in epileptic animals, producing significant group differences in all the phases of the disease (p < 0.028). Furthermore, the quantification of the SV2A expression in vivo with the [F-18]UCB-H radiotracer or ex vivo with immunofluorescence led to equivalent results, with a positive correlation between both. Conclusions Even if further studies in humans are required, the ability to detect a progressive decrease in SV2A expression during the development of temporal lobe epilepsy supports the use of [F-18]UCB-H as a useful tool to differentiate, in vivo, between healthy and epileptic animals along with the development of the epileptic disease

Pre-clinical development as microbicide of zinc tetra-ascorbo-camphorate, a novel terpenoid derivative: Potent in vitro inhibitory activity against both R5- and X4-tropic HIV-1 strains without significant in vivo mucosal toxicity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Terpenoid derivatives originating from many plants species, are interesting compounds with numerous biological effects, such as anti-HIV-1 activity. The zinc tetra-ascorbo-camphorate complex (or "C14"), a new monoterpenoid derivative was evaluated in vitro for its anti-HIV-1 activity on both R5- and X4-HIV-1 infection of primary target cells (macrophages, dendritic cells and T cells) and on HIV-1 transfer from dendritic cells to T cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The toxicity study was carried out in vitro and also with the New Zealand White rabbit vaginal irritation model. C14 was found to be no cytotoxic at high concentrations (CC50 > 10 μM) and showed to be a potential HIV-1 inhibitor of infection of all the primary cells tested (EC50 = 1 μM). No significant changes could be observed in cervicovaginal tissue of rabbit exposed during 10 consecutive days to formulations containing up to 20 μM of C14.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall, these preclinical studies suggest that zinc tetra-ascorbo-camphorate derivative is suitable for further testing as a candidate microbicide to prevent male-to-female heterosexual acquisition of HIV-1.</p

: Matériaux de cours issus des formations Mutual Heritage

Cet ouvrage fait partie du projet Mutual Heritage : from historical integration to contemporary active participation, un projet sur la patrimoine architectural et urbain récent dans le monde méditerranéen. Il rassemble des matériaux de cours issus d'une de ses formations