Formation of Giant Quasibound Cold Diatoms by Strong Atom-Cavity Coupling

We show that giant quasi-bound diatomic complexes, whose size is typically hundreds of nm, can be formed by intra-cavity cold diatom photoassociation or photodissociation in the strong atom-cavity coupling regime.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Biofunctionality of MBCP ceramic granules (TricOs™) plus fibrin sealant (Tisseel®) versus MBCP ceramic granules as a filler of large periprosthetic bone defects: an investigative ovine study

We aimed to quantify bone colonization toward an untreated titanium implant with primary stability following filling of the defect with micromacroporous biphasic calcium phosphate (MBCP) granules (TricOs) or MBCP granules mixed with fibrin sealant (Tisseel). Medial arthrotomy was performed on the knees of 20 sheep to create a bone defect (16 mm deep; 10 mm diameter), followed by anchorage of a titanium screw. Defects were filled with TricOs or TricOs-Tisseel granules, a perforated MBCP washer, a titanium washer and titanium screw. Sheep were euthanized at 3, 6, 12 and 26 weeks. From Week 12 onwards, the percentage of bone in contact with the 8 mm anchorage part of the screw increased in both groups, confirming its primary stability. At 26 weeks, whereas bone colonization was similar in both groups, biodegradation of ceramic was more rapid in the TricOs-Tisseel group (P = 0.0422). The centripetal nature of bone colonization was evident. Bone contact with the titanium implant surface was negligible. In conclusion, the use of a model that reproduces a large metaphyseal bone defect around a titanium implant with primary stability, filled with a mixture of either TricOs ceramic granules or TricOs granules mixed with Tisseel fibrin sealant, suggests that the addition of fibrin to TricOs enhances bone filling surgical technology

Computational model combined with in vitro experiments to analyse mechanotransduction during mesenchymal stem cell adhesion.

The shape that stem cells reach at the end of adhesion process influences their differentiation. Rearrangement of cytoskeleton and modification of intracellular tension may activate mechanotransduction pathways controlling cell commitment. In the present study, the mechanical signals involved in cell adhesion were computed in in vitro stem cells of different shapes using a single cell model, the so-called Cytoskeleton Divided Medium (CDM) model. In the CDM model, the filamentous cytoskeleton and nucleoskeleton networks were represented as a mechanical system of multiple tensile and compressive interactions between the nodes of a divided medium. The results showed that intracellular tonus, focal adhesion forces as well as nuclear deformation increased with cell spreading. The cell model was also implemented to simulate the adhesion process of a cell that spreads on protein-coated substrate by emitting filopodia and creating new distant focal adhesion points. As a result, the cell model predicted cytoskeleton reorganisation and reinforcement during cell spreading. The present model quantitatively computed the evolution of certain elements of mechanotransduction and may be a powerful tool for understanding cell mechanobiology and designing biomaterials with specific surface properties to control cell adhesion and differentiation

Recherches expérimentales sur la maladie de Teschen (méningo~encéphalo~myélite enzootique du porc)

Verge Jean, Pilet Ed., Bück G., Quesnel J.-J. Recherches expérimentales sur la maladie de Teschen (méningo-encéphalo-myélite enzootique du Porc). In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 104 n°7, 1951. pp. 373-377

(TTF)2[TTF(CO2H)2(CO2)2]: a wholly TTF material containing TTF radical cations and TTF derived anions

Electrooxidation of tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) carried out in the presence of (Bu4N)2TTF(CO2H)2(CO2)2 as supporting electrolyte affords wholly TTF organic materials in which TTF cations are associated with TTF(CO2H)2(CO2−)2 as counteranions

A novel, simple, and sensitive colorimetric method to determine aromatic amino acid aminotransferase activity using the Salkowski reagent

This study describes the development of a new colorimetric assay to determine aromatic amino acid aminotransferase (ArAT) activity. The assay is based on the transamination of l-tryptophan in the presence of 2-oxoglutarate, which yields indole-3-pyruvate (IPyA). The amount of IPyA formed was quantified by reaction with the Salkowski reagent. Optimized assay conditions are presented for ArAT isozymes isolated from Pseudomonas putida. For comparative purposes, ArAT activity was also determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. ArAT activity staining in polyacrylamide gels with the Salkowski reagent is also presented

Model-free Consensus Maximization for Non-Rigid Shapes

Many computer vision methods use consensus maximization to relate measurements containing outliers with the correct transformation model. In the context of rigid shapes, this is typically done using Random Sampling and Consensus (RANSAC) by estimating an analytical model that agrees with the largest number of measurements (inliers). However, small parameter models may not be always available. In this paper, we formulate the model-free consensus maximization as an Integer Program in a graph using `rules' on measurements. We then provide a method to solve it optimally using the Branch and Bound (BnB) paradigm. We focus its application on non-rigid shapes, where we apply the method to remove outlier 3D correspondences and achieve performance superior to the state of the art. Our method works with outlier ratio as high as 80\%. We further derive a similar formulation for 3D template to image matching, achieving similar or better performance compared to the state of the art.Comment: ECCV1

Tales of the unexpected: the selection of British party leaders since 1963

Jeremy Corbyn’s election as Leader of the Labour Party in 2015 stunned observers and practitioners of British politics alike. In this article, we first outline a theoretical framework that purports to explain why political parties operating in parliamentary systems choose the leaders they do. We then examine 32 leadership successions involving five major British parties since 1963, and note that many of these were unexpected, in that they were triggered by unforeseen circumstances, such as the sudden death or resignation of the incumbent. Examining each party in turn, we briefly explain why the winners won and identify at least eight cases (a quarter of our sample) where a candidate widely expected to prevail at the outset was ultimately defeated by a ‘dark horse’, ‘second favourite’ or even ‘rank outsider’. Of these, Corbyn’s election in 2015 was the most unexpected and, consistent with the findings of studies of party leadership conventions in other parliamentary systems, namely Canada and Spain, suggests that ideological and policy concerns are sometimes more important than considerations of party unity and electability, especially when a leadership contest is dominated by party activists

The Involvement of SMILE/TMTC3 in Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response

The state of operational tolerance has been detected sporadically in some renal transplanted patients that stopped immunosuppressive drugs, demonstrating that allograft tolerance might exist in humans. Several years ago, a study by Brouard et al. identified a molecular signature of several genes that were significantly differentially expressed in the blood of such patients compared with patients with other clinical situations. The aim of the present study is to analyze the role of one of these molecules over-expressed in the blood of operationally tolerant patients, SMILE or TMTC3, a protein whose function is still unknown.We first confirmed that SMILE mRNA is differentially expressed in the blood of operationally tolerant patients with drug-free long term graft function compared to stable and rejecting patients. Using a yeast two-hybrid approach and a colocalization study by confocal microscopy we furthermore report an interaction of SMILE with PDIA3, a molecule resident in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In accordance with this observation, SMILE silencing in HeLa cells correlated with the modulation of several transcripts involved in proteolysis and a decrease in proteasome activity. Finally, SMILE silencing increased HeLa cell sensitivity to the proteasome inhibitor Bortezomib, a drug that induces ER stress via protein overload, and increased transcript expression of a stress response protein, XBP-1, in HeLa cells and keratinocytes.In this study we showed that SMILE is involved in the endoplasmic reticulum stress response, by modulating proteasome activity and XBP-1 transcript expression. This function of SMILE may influence immune cell behavior in the context of transplantation, and the analysis of endoplasmic reticulum stress in transplantation may reveal new pathways of regulation in long-term graft acceptance thereby increasing our understanding of tolerance