Investigation of the cytotoxicity of CCVD carbon nanotubes towards human umbilical vein endothelial cells

The cytotoxicity of different samples of carbon nanotubes synthesised by catalytic chemical vapour deposition was investigated towards human umbilical vein endothelial cells, using two cytotoxicity standard assays (neutral red assay for the cell viability and MTT assay—tetrazolinium salt—for the cell metabolic activity). No cytotoxicity was found for any sample

Mavericks, Moderates, or Drifters - Supreme Court Voting Alignments, 1838-2009

We introduce a new data set recording the vote of every Justice in 18,812 Supreme Court cases decided between 1838 and 1949. When combined with existing data sets, our new data allow us to examine votes in all cases through 2009. We use this data to address previously unanswerable questions about the president\u27s ability to appoint Supreme Court Justices of similar ideology. Surprisingly, history shows that the president\u27s odds of appointing a Justice who sides with appointees of his party have been no better than a coin flip. We find no evidence that divided government at the time of nomination increased the rate of appointees who voted across party lines. These findings cast doubt on the hypothesis that appointments bring the Court in line with majoritarian views. Indeed, many failed appointments occurred when a majority of the Senate and the president were of the same party. These mavericks are not outliers, but rather are part of a larger pattern of appointees whose votes departed or drifted away from executive expectations at remarkable frequency throughout our nation\u27s histor

Passages du Détroit de Gibraltar dans la Fiction Francophone

Les recherches que nous souhaitons partager portent sur le drame des réfugiés maghrébins ou sub-sahariens qui traversent essentiellement le détroit de Gibraltar, laissant derrière eux une Afrique en crise pour essayer d’atteindre les rives européennes, une sorte d’Eldorado, à leurs yeux. En réalité, l’Europe vieillissante a besoin d’une main d’oeuvre jeune, mais en même temps, elle est hostile à une « invasion » massive. Après avoir abordé l’aspect sociologique de ces migrations, nous nous intéresserons à la fiction racontée et représentée au féminin et parfois au masculin sur les passages du détroit de Gibraltar. Il s’agira d’une approche francophone de cette problématique.As investigações que escolhemos partilhar tratam do drama dos refugiados magrebinos ou subsaarianos que atravessam essencialmente o estreito de Gibraltar, deixando para trás uma África em crise, para tentar atingir as costas europeias, uma espécie de Eldorado para eles. Na realidade, a Europa envelhecida precisa duma mão-de-obra jovem, mas ao mesmo tempo é hostil a uma “invasão” massiva. Depois de abordar o aspeto sociológico destas migrações, prender-nos-emos na ficção contada e representada no feminino e algumas vezes no masculino sobre as passagens no estreito de Gibraltar. Tratar-se-á duma abordagem francófona desta problemática.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Traduction da Lenda das Rosas de Rosais de Gentil Marques

En guise d’introduction, nous énonçonsquelques définitions de la Légende, genre littéraire dont fait partienotre histoire.Puis, nous présentons la traduction en français de la Légende des Roses deRosaisainsi quele texte original en portugais. Notre légende se passe sur l’île S. Jorge, dans l’archipel des Açores. C’est l’histoire de deux amoureux Lúcia et João qui voient leur amour interrompu par une mobilisation de João pour partir à la guerre, peu de temps avant leur mariage. Lúcia est inconsolable. João prédit qu’un champ vide près de leurs maisons se couvrirait de roses rouges s’il venait à mourir. C’est ce qu’il arriva après deux ans et demi d’attente de la part de Lúcia.Deux mois après cette nouvelle apportée par un moine,aux roses rouges se mêlèrent des roses blanches symbolisant la beauté et la mort de Lúcia. Cette histoire d’amour romantique se termineà la manière de Tristan et Iseult (légende celtique du XIIème siècle)ou de Roméo et Juliette de William Shakespeare(1597).Na introdução, enunciamos algumas definições da Lenda, o género literário a que a nossa história pertence. Em seguida, apresentamos a tradução francesa da Lenda das Rosas deRosais assim comoo texto original português. A nossa lenda tem lugar na ilha de S. Ilha Jorge, no arquipélago dos Açores. É a história de dois namorados, Lúcia e João, que vêemo seu amor interrompido pela mobilização de João para ir para a guerra, pouco antes do seu casamento. Lúcia ficainconsolável. João prevê que ocampo vazio perto das suas casas será coberto de rosas vermelhas,se ele morrer. Isto aconteceu após dois anos e meio de espera da parte de Lúcia. Dois meses após a notícia ter sido trazida por um frade, asrosas vermelhas foram mescladascom rosas brancas simbolizando a beleza e a morte de Lúcia. Esta história de amor romântico termina à maneira de Tristão e Isolda (uma lenda céltica do século XII)oude Romeu e Julieta de William Shakespeare(1597).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

GOToolBox: functional analysis of gene datasets based on Gene Ontology

We have developed methods and tools based on the Gene Ontology (GO) resource allowing the identification of statistically over- or under-represented terms in a gene dataset; the clustering of functionally related genes within a set; and the retrieval of genes sharing annotations with a query gene. GO annotations can also be constrained to a slim hierarchy or a given level of the ontology. The source codes are available upon request, and distributed under the GPL license

An amino acid transporter involved in gastric acid secretion

Gastric acid secretion is regulated by a variety of stimuli, in particular histamine and acetyl choline. In addition, dietary factors such as the acute intake of a protein-rich diet and the subsequent increase in serum amino acids can stimulate gastric acid secretion only through partially characterized pathways. Recently, we described in mouse stomach parietal cells the expression of the system L heteromeric amino acid transporter comprised of the LAT2-4F2hc dimer. Here we address the potential role of the system L amino acid transporter in gastric acid secretion by parietal cells in freshly isolated rat gastric glands. RT-PCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry confirmed the expression of 4F2-LAT2 amino acid transporters in rat parietal cells. In addition, mRNA was detected for the B0AT1, ASCT2, and ATB(0+) amino acid transporters. Intracellular pH measurements in parietal cells showed histamine-induced and omeprazole-sensitive H+-extrusion which was enhanced by about 50% in the presence of glutamine or cysteine (1mM), two substrates of system L amino acid transporters. BCH, a non-metabolizable substrate and a competitive inhibitor of system L amino acid transport, abolished the stimulation of acid secretion by glutamine or cysteine suggesting that this stimulation required the uptake of amino acids by system L. In the absence of histamine glutamine also stimulated H+-extrusion, whereas glutamate did not. Also, phenylalanine was effective in stimulating H+/K+-ATPase activity. Glutamine did not increase intracellular Ca2+ levels indicating that it did not act via the recently described amino acid modulated Ca2+-sensing receptor. These data suggest a novel role for heterodimeric amino acid transporters and may elucidate a pathway by which protein-rich diets stimulate gastric acid secretio

Association of interleukin 7 immunotherapy with lymphocyte counts among patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

This case series examines whether interleukin 7 (IL-7) is associated with restored host protective immunity in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and immunosuppression

Number transcoding in bilinguals—A transversal developmental study

Number transcoding is the cognitive task of converting between different numerical codes (i.e. visual “42”, verbal “forty-two”). Visual symbolic to verbal transcoding and vice versa strongly relies on language proficiency. We evaluated transcoding of German-French bilinguals from Luxembourg in 5th, 8th, 11th graders and adults. In the Luxembourgish educational system, children acquire mathematics in German (LM1) until the 7th grade, and then the language of learning mathematic switches to French (LM2). French `70s `80s `90s are less transparent than `30s `40s `50s numbers, since they have a base-20 structure, which is not the case in German. Transcoding was evaluated with a reading aloud and a verbal-visual number matching task. Results of both tasks show a cognitive cost for transcoding numbers having a base-20 structure (i.e. `70s, `80s and `90s), such that response times were slower in all age groups. Furthermore, considering only base-10 numbers (i.e. `30s `40s `50s), it appeared that transcoding in LM2 (French) also entailed a cost. While participants across age groups tended to read numbers slower in LM2, this effect was limited to the youngest age group in the matching task. In addition, participants made more errors when reading LM2 numbers. In conclusion, we observed an age-independent language effect with numbers having a base-20 structure in French, reflecting their reduced transparency with respect to the decimal system. Moreover, we find an effect of language of math acquisition such that transcoding is less well mastered in LM2. This effect tended to persist until adulthood in the reading aloud task, while in the matching task performance both languages become similar in older adolescents and young adults. This study supports the link between numbers and language, especially highlighting the impact of language on reading numbers aloud from childhood to adulthood