Ex oriente luxuria (I). Introduction : comment définir l'objet de luxe ?

Report of the first workshop held at the Ecole normale supérieure (Paris) and organized by Jean Trinquier and Pierre SchneiderCompte-rendu de la première journée d'études organisée par Jean Trinquier et Pierre Schneider le 10 novembre 2014, à l'École normale supérieure de Pari

Expression of the inactivating deiodinase, Deiodinase 3, in the pre-metamorphic tadpole retina

International audienc

Preparation of well-defined poly[ethylene oxide-b-(sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonate)] diblock copolymers by water-based atom transfer radical polymerization

peer reviewedWell-defined poly[(ethylene oxide)-block-(sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonate)] diblock copolymers [P(EOm-b-AMPSn)], have been obtained by water-based ATRP using a-methoxy-?-(2-methylbromoisobutyrate) poly(ethylene oxide)s (MeO-P[EO]m-BriB with m ranging from 12 to 113) and CuBr?·?2Bpy (Bpy for 2,2'-bipyridyl) as macroinitiator and catalytic complex, respectively. Compared to direct polymerization in water, it has been demonstrated that the water/methanol (3:1, v/v) mixture is better suited for predicting the final number-average molar mass from the initial monomer-to-macroinitiator molar ratio and achieving a quite narrow polydispersity, even at high monomer conversion (?˜?1.4 at 80% conversion). The effect of temperature, solvent mixture composition and addition of NaCl salt on the polymerization rate and extent of control over the copolymer molecular parameters have been highlighted as well

Polyelectrolyte complexes based on (quaternized) poly[2-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] : behaviour in contact with blood

peer reviewedPolyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) between (quaternized) poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PDMAEMA) and (crosslinked) N-carboxyethylchitosan (CECh) or poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sodium sulfonate) (PAMPSNa) were prepared and characterized in terms of their stability, equilibrium water content, and surface morphology. The evaluation of the behavior of the studied PECs in contact with blood revealed that the (crosslinked) CECh/(quaternized) PDMAEMA complexes had lost the inherent PDMAEMA cytotoxicity but still preserved haemostatic activity. In contrast, the complex formation between (quaternized) PDMAEMA and PAMPSNa allowed the preparation of materials with improved blood compatibility

A comparative study of the electro-assisted grafting of mono and bi-phosphonic acids on nitinol

peer reviewe

Advanced pH-responsive copolymer structures by combination of 'click' chemistry and atom transfer radical polymerization

peer reviewedIn this paper, the combination of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of 1-ethoxyethyl acrylate (EEA) and the copper(I) catalyzed ''click' 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of azides and terminal alkynes was evaluated as a method to synthesize diverse amphiphilic copolymer structures. Using the 1-ethoxyethyl protecting group strategy, the application field was broadened with the synthesis of complex polymer structures containing poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) segments. A modular approach has been used: polymers with alkyne functionalities as well as azide functionalities have been synthesized. These polymers were subsequently ''clicked' together to yield block copolymers. Furthermore, graft copolymers were synthesized by grafting alkyne-containing polymers onto a polymer backbone with multiple azide functions using the combination of ATRP and ''click' reactions

One-pot synthesis of well-defined amphiphilic and adaptative block copolymers via versatile combination of 'click' chemistry and ATRP

peer reviewedWell-defined amphiphilic PCL-b-PDMAEMA block copolymers were successfully synthesized by a combination of ATRP and 'click' chemistry following either a commutative two-step procedure or a straightforward one-pot process using CuBr?·?3Bpy as the sole catalyst. Compared to the traditional coupling method, combining ATRP and click chemistry even in a 'one-pot' process allows the preparation of PCL-b-PDMAEMA diblock copolymers characterized by a narrow molecular weight distribution and quantitative conversion of azides and alkynes into triazole functions. Moreover, the amphiphilic character of these copolymers was demonstrated by surface tension measurements and critical micellization concentration was calculated

Measuring the Expertise of Workers for Crowdsourcing Applications

International audienceCrowdsourcing platforms enable companies to propose tasks to a large crowd of users. The workers receive a compensation for their work according to the serious of the tasks they managed to accomplish. The evaluation of the quality of responses obtained from the crowd remains one of the most important problems in this context. Several methods have been proposed to estimate the expertise level of crowd workers. We propose an innovative measure of expertise assuming that we possess a dataset with an objective comparison of the items concerned. Our method is based on the definition of four factors with the theory of belief functions. We compare our method to the Fagin distance on a dataset from a real experiment, where users have to assess the quality of some audio recordings. Then, we propose to fuse both the Fagin distance and our expertise measure

Rapid generation of stable transgenic embryonic stem cell lines using modular lentivectors

Generation of stable transgenic embryonic stem (ES) cell lines by classic transfection is still a difficult task, requiring time-consuming clonal selection, and hampered by clonal artifacts and gene silencing. Here we describe a novel system that allows construction of lentivectors and generation of stable ES cell lines with > 99% transgene expression within a very short time frame. Rapid insertion of promoters and genes of interest is obtained through a modular recombinational cloning system. Vectors contain central polypurine tract from HIV-1 element and woodchuck hepatitis virus post-transcriptional regulatory element as well as antibiotic resistance to achieve optimal and homogenous transgene expression. We show that the system 1) is functional in mouse and human ES cells, 2) allows the generation of ES cells expressing genes of interest under the control of ubiquitous or tissue-specific promoters, and 3) allows ES cells expressing two constructs through selection with different antibiotics to be obtained. The technology described herein should become a useful tool in stem cell research

AMOTL1 Promotes Breast Cancer Progression and Is Antagonized by Merlin

AbstractThe Hippo signaling network is a key regulator of cell fate. In the recent years, it was shown that its implication in cancer goes well beyond the sole role of YAP transcriptional activity and its regulation by the canonical MST/LATS kinase cascade. Here we show that the motin family member AMOTL1 is an important effector of Hippo signaling in breast cancer. AMOTL1 connects Hippo signaling to tumor cell aggressiveness. We show that both canonical and noncanonical Hippo signaling modulates AMOTL1 levels. The tumor suppressor Merlin triggers AMOTL1 proteasomal degradation mediated by the NEDD family of ubiquitin ligases through direct interaction. In parallel, YAP stimulates AMOTL1 expression. The loss of Merlin expression and the induction of Yap activity that are frequently observed in breast cancers thus result in elevated AMOTL1 levels. AMOTL1 expression is sufficient to trigger tumor cell migration and stimulates proliferation by activating c-Src. In a large cohort of human breast tumors, we show that AMOTL1 protein levels are upregulated during cancer progression and that, importantly, the expression of AMOTL1 in lymph node metastasis appears predictive of the risk of relapse. Hence we uncover an important mechanism by which Hippo signaling promotes breast cancer progression by modulating the expression of AMOTL1