Electrodeposition of Ni-P/SiC Composite Films with High Hardness

This chapter describes the effect of SiC particle concentrations on the metallic continuous phase of the coating and the effect of heat treatment on the crystalline structure, hardness, and wear resistance of electrodeposited Ni-P-SiC coatings. The deposits were obtained via electrodeposition onto an AISI 1018 steel electrode and then heat treated at various temperatures ranging from 300 °C to 600 °C for 60 min in air. The tribological characteristics studied included hardness, friction coefficient, and wear resistance. The results indicated that the dispersion of SiC particles in the metallic matrix improves coating tribological properties such as hardness and wear resistance while diminishing the friction coefficient. The Ni-P-SiC alloy was originally amorphous and was transformed into a mixture of amorphous and crystalline phases when was thermally treated in the range from 400 °C to 500 °C. This phase transformation was associated with the precipitation of a mixture of Ni3P intermetallic compound and pure Ni crystals. In addition, the results showed that the wear resistance of the Ni-P-SiC coating increased with hardness. The maximum hardness (1453.4 HV) was obtained when the Ni-P-SiC coatings were thermally treated at 500 °C

Portable Vapor-Compression Solar Refrigeration System for use in the Agricultural Harvesting Site

383-390There is a growing interest in implementing sustainable technologies within reach of the population to cover the need for the rational energy consumption of refrigeration systems. Therefore, this work shows the design and simulation of a cooling chamber, which will be part of a vapor-compression solar cooling system, useful for the agro-industrial sector to conserve perishable products directly at the harvesting site. This portable system uses photovoltaic panels as a source of motive power. The above was developed from the knowledge of the fruit to be conserved for its modeling and subsequent simulation. In this case the fruit is guava. Also, a photovoltaic analysis was carried out. It is possible to obtain a cooling capacity for the chamber of 183.10 W and a heat loss of 6.85 W. Detailed data of the formulas used for designing and simulating the chamber, its isolation calculus, the guavas and their wooden boxes, and the Photovoltaic panels, were provided to clarify the procedure for the proposed prototype

Portable vapor-compression solar refrigeration system for use in the agricultural harvesting site

There is a growing interest in implementing sustainable technologies that are within reach of the population for covering the need of a rational energy consumption of refrigeration systems. Therefore, this work shows the design and construction of a cooling chamber, which will be part of a vapor-compression solar cooling system, useful for the agro-industrial sector to conserving perishable products directly at the harvesting site. This portable system uses photovoltaic panels as a source of motive power. The above was developed from the knowledge of the fruit to be conserved for its modeling and subsequent simulation, in this case study was guava. Also, a photovoltaic analysis was carried out. It was possible to obtain a cooling capacity for the chamber of 183.10 W and a heat loss of 6.85 W

17β-estradiol promotes extracellular vesicle release and selective miRNA loading in ERα-positive breast cancer

The causes and consequences of abnormal biogenesis of extracellular vesicles (EVs) are not yet well understood in malignancies, including in breast cancers (BCs). Given the hormonal signaling dependence of estrogen receptor–positive (ER+) BC, we hypothesized that 17β-estradiol (estrogen) might influence EV production and microRNA (miRNA) loading. We report that physiological doses of 17β-estradiol promote EV secretion specifically from ER+ BC cells via inhibition of miR-149-5p, hindering its regulatory activity on SP1, a transcription factor that regulates the EV biogenesis factor nSMase2. Additionally, miR-149-5p downregulation promotes hnRNPA1 expression, responsible for the loading of let-7’s miRNAs into EVs. In multiple patient cohorts, we observed increased levels of let-7a-5p and let-7d-5p in EVs derived from the blood of premenopausal ER+ BC patients, and elevated EV levels in patients with high BMI, both conditions associated with higher levels of 17β-estradiol. In brief, we identified a unique estrogen-driven mechanism by which ER+ BC cells eliminate tumor suppressor miRNAs in EVs, with effects on modulating tumor-associated macrophages in the microenvironment

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Investigation of Genetic Variation Underlying Central Obesity amongst South Asians

The LOLIPOP study is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, the British Heart Foundation (SP/04/002), the Medical Research Council (G0601966,G0700931), the Wellcome Trust (084723/Z/08/Z), and the NIHR (RP-PG-0407-10371). The work was carried out in part at the NIHR/Wellcome Trust Imperial Clinical Research Facility. The Sikh Diabetes Study is supported by National Institute of Health grants KO1TW006087, funded by the Fogarty International Center, R01DK082766, funded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and a seed grant from University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, USA. The Mauritius Family Study is supported by the Mauritius Ministry of Health and Quality of Life, Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council NHMRC project grant numbers 1020285 and 1037916, the Victorian Government’s OIS Program, and partly funded by US National Institutes of Health Grant DK-25446. We thank the participants and research staff who made the study possible.South Asians are 1/4 of the world’s population and have increased susceptibility to central obesity and related cardiometabolic disease. Knowledge of genetic variants affecting risk of central obesity is largely based on genome-wide association studies of common SNPs in Europeans. To evaluate the contribution of DNA sequence variation to the higher levels of central obesity (defined as waist hip ratio adjusted for body mass index, WHR) among South Asians compared to Europeans we carried out: i) a genome-wide association analysis of >6M genetic variants in 10,318 South Asians with focused analysis of population-specific SNPs; ii) an exome-wide association analysis of ~250K SNPs in protein-coding regions in 2,637 South Asians; iii) a comparison of risk allele frequencies and effect sizes of 48 known WHR SNPs in 12,240 South Asians compared to Europeans. In genome-wide analyses, we found no novel associations between common genetic variants and WHR in South Asians at P<5x10-8; variants showing equivocal association with WHR (P<1x10-5) did not replicate at P<0.05 in an independent cohort of South Asians (N = 1,922) or in published, predominantly European meta-analysis data. In the targeted analyses of 122,391 population-specific SNPs we also found no associations with WHR in South Asians at P<0.05 after multiple testing correction. Exome-wide analyses showed no new associations between genetic variants and WHR in South Asians, either individually at P<1.5x10-6 or grouped by gene locus at P<2.5x10−6. At known WHR loci, risk allele frequencies were not higher in South Asians compared to Europeans (P = 0.77), while effect sizes were unexpectedly smaller in South Asians than Europeans (P<5.0x10-8). Our findings argue against an important contribution for population-specific or cosmopolitan genetic variants underlying the increased risk of central obesity in South Asians compared to Europeans.Yeshttp://www.plosone.org/static/editorial#pee

Maternal blood cadmium, lead and arsenic levels, nutrient combinations, and offspring birthweight

Abstract Background Cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) are common environmental contaminants that have been associated with lower birthweight. Although some essential metals may mitigate exposure, data are inconsistent. This study sought to evaluate the relationship between toxic metals, nutrient combinations and birthweight among 275 mother-child pairs. Methods Non-essential metals, Cd, Pb, As, and essential metals, iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), copper (Cu), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and manganese (Mn) were measured in maternal whole blood obtained during the first trimester using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Folate concentrations were measured by microbial assay. Birthweight was obtained from medical records. We used quantile regression to evaluate the association between toxic metals and nutrients due to their underlying wedge-shaped relationship. Ordinary linear regression was used to evaluate associations between birth weight and toxic metals. Results After multivariate adjustment, the negative association between Pb or Cd and a combination of Fe, Se, Ca and folate was robust, persistent and dose-dependent (p < 0.05). However, a combination of Zn, Cu, Mn and Mg was positively associated with Pb and Cd levels. While prenatal blood Cd and Pb were also associated with lower birthweight. Fe, Se, Ca and folate did not modify these associations. Conclusion Small sample size and cross-sectional design notwithstanding, the robust and persistent negative associations between some, but not all, nutrient combinations with these ubiquitous environmental contaminants suggest that only some recommended nutrient combinations may mitigate toxic metal exposure in chronically exposed populations. Larger longitudinal studies are required to confirm these findings

La traumatologie du médecin manipulateur

Les manipulations vertébrales, qui sollicitent différentes zones anatomiques chez le médecin qui les pratique, peuvent être à l'origine d'une traumatologie chez le médecin manipulateur lui-même. Pour étudier la fréquence de cette pathologie professionnelle, nous avons interrogé par questionnaire 96 médecins manipulateurs et 177 médecins généralistes ne pratiquant pas les manipulations. Les questions étaient relatives aux douleurs de l'appareil locomoteur liées à la pratique médicale, de façon directe ou indirecte. Il apparaît que ces douleurs sont, d'une manière générale, significativement plus fréquentes chez les médecins qui manipulent que chez les médecins généralistes, notamment en ce qui concerne les atteintes du rachis, du poignet, de la main et de l'appendice xiphoïde. Par contre, il n'y a pas de différence significative concernant les atteintes du coude et de l'épaule.NANTES-BU Médecine pharmacie (441092101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Intérêt de la quantification de la consommation de médicaments dans la prise en charge globale du patient douloureux chronique

Il s'agit d'une étude, qui a pour objectif de valider un outil de quantification de la consommation de médicaments, le QCM score, adaptation française du MQS score (Medication Quantification Scale) chez les patients douloureux chroniques. Il semble confirmer l'efficacité de la prise en charge globale des Centres d évaluation et de Traitement de la Douleur (CETD). Nous décrivons les caractéristiques et les modalités de prise en charge d une cohorte de 72 patients douloureux chroniques hospitalisés, sur une période de 5 mois dans le CETD d un Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) français. Les patients ont bénéficié d une prise en charge pluridisciplinaire médicale, fonctionnelle, psychologique, et socio-professionnelle, avec une hospitalisation initiale de 5 ou 10 jours, et un suivi à 3 mois. A 3 mois, une amélioration significative a été observée pour l ensemble des critères de jugement : le QCM score, les Echelles Numériques (EN) de la douleur, du retentissement fonctionnel, du sommeil et/ou du score d Hamilton d évaluation de l anxiété et de la dépression (HAD).NANTES-BU Médecine pharmacie (441092101) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF

Automated Detection of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea At Different Time Scales Using the Electrocardiogram

An automated classification algorithm is presented which processes short-duration epochs of surface electrocardiogram data derived from polysomnography studies, and determines whether an epoch is from a period of sleep disordered respiration (SDR) or normal respiration (NR). The epoch lengths considered were 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 s. Epochs were labeled as `NR&apos; or `SDR&apos; by a human expert, based on standard polysomnography interpretation rules. The automated classification algorithm was trained and tested on a database of 70 overnight ECG recordings from subjects with and without obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (35 used for training, 35 for independent validation). Depending on the epoch length, the classifier correctly labeled between 87% (15 s epochs) and 91% (60 s epochs) of the epochs in the test set. Accuracy was lowest for the shortest (15 s) and longest (90 s) epoch lengths, but the analysis was relatively insensitive to choice of epoch length. The classifications from these epochs were combined to form an overall summary measure of minutes-of-SDR, allowing per-subject classification