UV Properties of Galactic Globular Clusters with GALEX II. Integrated colors

We present ultraviolet (UV) integrated colors of 44 Galactic globular clusters (GGCs) observed with the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) in both FUV and NUV bands. This data-base is the largest homogeneous catalog of UV colors ever published for stellar systems in our Galaxy. The proximity of GGCs makes it possible to resolve many individual stars even with the somewhat low spatial resolution of GALEX. This allows us to determine how the integrated UV colors are driven by hot stellar populations, primarily horizontal branch stars and their progeny. The UV colors are found to be correlated with various parameters commonly used to define the horizontal branch morphology. We also investigate how the UV colors vary with parameters like metallicity, age, helium abundance and concentration. We find for the first time that GCs associated with the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy have (FUV-V) colors systematically redder than GGCs with the same metallicity. Finally, we speculate about the presence of an interesting trend, suggesting that the UV color of GCs may be correlated with the mass of the host galaxy, in the sense that more massive galaxies possess bluer clusters.Comment: Accepted for publication by The Astronomical Journal. 36 pages, 9 figures, 1 tabl

Resurgent Current and Voltage Sensor Trapping Enhanced Activation by a β-Scorpion Toxin Solely in Nav1.6 Channel SIGNIFICANCE IN MICE PURKINJE NEURONS

Abstract Resurgent currents are functionally crucial in sustaining the high frequency firing of cerebellar Purkinje neurons expressing Nav1.6 channels. β-Scorpion toxins, such as CssIV, induce a left shift in the voltage-dependent activation of Nav1.2 channels by "trapping" the IIS4 voltage sensor segment. We found that the dangerous Cn2 β-scorpion peptide induces both the left shift voltage-dependent activation and a transient resurgent current only in human Nav1.6 channels (among 1.1-1.7), whereas CssIV did not induce the resurgent current. Cn2 also produced both actions in mouse Purkinje cells. These findings suggest that only distinct β-toxins produce resurgent currents. We suggest that the novel and unique selectivity of Cn2 could make it a model drug to replace deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus in patients with Parkinson disease

UV Properties of Galactic Globular Clusters with GALEX I. The Color-Magnitude Diagrams

We present GALEX data for 44 Galactic globular clusters obtained during 3 GALEX observing cycles between 2004 and 2008. This is the largest homogeneous data set on the UV photometric properties of Galactic globular clusters ever collected. The sample selection and photometric analysis are discussed, and color-magnitude diagrams are presented. The blue and intermediate-blue horizontal branch is the dominant feature of the UV color-magnitude diagrams of old Galactic globular clusters. Our sample is large enough to display the remarkable variety of horizontal branch shapes found in old stellar populations. Other stellar types that are obviously detected are blue stragglers and post core-He burning stars. The main features of UV color-magnitude diagrams of Galactic globular clusters are briefly discussed. We establish the locus of post-core He burning stars in the UV color-magnitude diagram and present a catalog of candidate AGB-manqu \'e, post early-AGB, and post-AGB stars within our cluster sample.Comment: Accepted for publication by The Astronomical Journal. 46 pages, including 21 Figures and 3 tables. All data will be made publicly available by the time the article is published. In the meantime, please contact the authors for data requests. Revised version fixed error with figure numbers and caption

Quelques Aspects du Role du Programme Tempus dans l'Internationalisation de l'Enseignement Supérior.

L’expérience de l’Institut Universitaire de Technologie (I. U. T.) de Béthune (Université d’Artois) dans le programme Tempus-Phare provient de son activité depuis le 1er septembre 1991 dans 17 projets différents générant un budget global d’environ 5 millions d’ECU

Extended criteria donor lung reconditioning with the organ care system lung: a single institution experience

Lung transplantation is a life-saving procedure limited by donor's availability. Lung reconditioning by ex vivo lung perfusion represents a tool to expand the donor pool. In this study, we describe our experience with the OCS\u2122 Lung to assess and recondition extended criteria lungs. From January 2014 to October 2016, of 86 on-site donors evaluated, eight lungs have been identified as potentially treatable with OCS\u2122 Lung. We analyzed data from these donors and the recipient outcomes after transplantation. All donor lungs improved during OCS perfusion in particular regarding the PaO2/FiO2 ratio (from 340 mmHg in donor to 537 mmHg in OCS) leading to lung transplantation in all cases. Concerning postoperative results, primary graft dysfunction score 3 at 72 h was observed in one patient, while median mechanical ventilation time, ICU, and hospital stay were 60 h, 14 and 36 days respectively. One in-hospital death was recorded (12.5%), while other two patients died during follow-up leading to 1-year survival of 62.5%. The remaining five patients are alive and in good conditions. This case series demonstrates the feasibility and value of lung reconditioning with the OCS\u2122 Lung; a prospective trial is underway to validate its role to safely increase the number of donor lungs. \ua9 2018 Steunstichting ESO

Open Issues on the Synthesis of Evolved Stellar Populations at Ultraviolet Wavelengths

In this paper we briefly review three topics that have motivated our (and others') investigations in recent years within the context of evolutionary population synthesis techniques. These are: The origin of the FUV up-turn in elliptical galaxies, the age-metallicity degeneracy, and the study of the mid-UV rest-frame spectra of distant red galaxies. We summarize some of our results and present a very preliminary application of a UV grid of theoretical spectra in the analysis of integrated properties of aged stellar populations. At the end, we concisely suggest how these topics can be tackled once the World Space Observatory enters into operation in the midst of this decade.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Science, UV Universe special issu

Stress-induced lipocalin-2 controls dendritic spine formation and neuronal activity in the amygdala.

This is a freely-available open access publication. Please cite the published version which is available via the DOI link in this record.Behavioural adaptation to psychological stress is dependent on neuronal plasticity and dysfunction at this cellular level may underlie the pathogenesis of affective disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Taking advantage of genome-wide microarray assay, we performed detailed studies of stress-affected transcripts in the amygdala - an area which forms part of the innate fear circuit in mammals. Having previously demonstrated the role of lipocalin-2 (Lcn-2) in promoting stress-induced changes in dendritic spine morphology/function and neuronal excitability in the mouse hippocampus, we show here that the Lcn-2 gene is one of the most highly upregulated transcripts detected by microarray analysis in the amygdala after acute restraint-induced psychological stress. This is associated with increased Lcn-2 protein synthesis, which is found on immunohistochemistry to be predominantly localised to neurons. Stress-naïve Lcn-2(-/-) mice show a higher spine density in the basolateral amygdala and a 2-fold higher rate of neuronal firing rate compared to wild-type mice. Unlike their wild-type counterparts, Lcn-2(-/-) mice did not show an increase in dendritic spine density in response to stress but did show a distinct pattern of spine morphology. Thus, amygdala-specific neuronal responses to Lcn-2 may represent a mechanism for behavioural adaptation to psychological stress.Marie Curie Excellence Grant from the European Commission.Medical Research Council Project GrantCOST Action ECMNe

Ketamine modulates spontaneous and miniature excitatory synaptic currents in the medial prefrontal cortex of acutely stressed rats

The cellular and functional changes underlying the adaptive or maladaptive behavioral effects of an acute stressor are not well understood. In the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of preclinical animal models, an acute stressor may rapidly change dendritic morphology and synaptic function. In the male rat mPFC, the foot-shock stress protocol (FS) rapidly (\uf07e1 hr) increases the number of excitatory synapses, the readily releasable Glu vesicle pool, [K+]-evoked Glu release from synaptosomes (doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00060), and the amplitude of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) recorded in L2/3 pyramidal neurons (Pyr). Within 24 hrs, FS induces shrinkage of apical dendrites, while no information exists for sEPSCs. Miniature excitatory synaptic currents (mEPSCs) have been suggested to have a neurotrophic and homeostatic role, but the effects of FS on mEPSCs are unknown. To understand the sustained effects of FS on Glu transmission in the mPFC and its regulation by ketamine at antidepressant dosage, synaptic currents were recorded 24 hrs after FS in visually identified layer 2/3 Pyr of prelimbic mPFC in slices from adult male rats. Animals subjected to a 40-min session of inescapable FS (FS group), animals injected with ketamine (10mg/kg) 6 hrs after FS, and controls (CTR) were compared. The amplitude, area, rise, decay, and inter-event intervals of mEPSCs and sEPSCs were analyzed. mEPSCs in the FS group showed minor changes in frequency (small increase) and ampitude (small decrease) vs CTR. Ketamine after FS increased mEPSC frequency and peak amplitude and accelerated rise and decay with no change in area, vs CTR. The above effects were significant with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test on pooled cumulative unbinned data but not with 2-way ANOVA of binned histograms. sEPSCs frequency in the FS group had a small decrease, with no change in waveform vs. CTR. Ketamine after FS produced similar effects on sESPCs as for mEPSCs. Overall, this work indicates that, 24 hrs after FS, minor changes occur in miniature and spontaneous synaptic currents at layer 2/3 Glu synapses of the mPFC of adult male rats. Ketamine effects on Glu synaptic currents of stressed animals suggest changes in synapse morphology and/or dendritic localization