Nanorhéomètre pour l’étude des liquides confiné

International audienceNanorhéomètre pour la mesure des propriétés mécaniques sans contac

Insulin-mimetic compound hexaquis (benzylammonium) decavanadate is antilipolytic in human fat cells

This study investigates in murine and human adipocytes the antilipolytic properties of a conjugate of benzylamine and decavanadate (B6V10), already reported to lower hyperglycaemia in diabetic rodents. Data indicated that the conjugate dose-dependently inhibited submaximal activation of lipolysis in all the species studied. Such antilipolytic action deals with the in vivo FFA-lowering properties already described for B6V10 in diabetic rats. B6V10 also activated lipogenesis and glucose transport in fat cells. B6V10 should therefore be useful in preventing the lipotoxicity constituted by the unrestrained lipolytic activity of insulin-resistant adipocytes in obese individuals presenting type 2 diabetes, a state named diabesity

Enquête sur le rapport à la règle chez les automobilistes français.

La sécurité routière est un problème majeur pour les politiques publiques dans le monde entier. En 2016, la France a enregistré 3 477 tués dans des accidents de la route et est confrontée à des difficultés pour réduire ce nombre depuis quelques années (ONISR, 2017a). Malgré la mise en place de lois plus strictes et un renforcement des contrôles, il arrive fréquemment que les conducteurs ne respectent pas le Code de la route. En 2016, sans compter les infractions aux règles de stationnement, plus de 20 millions d'infractions ont été enregistrées (en augmentation de 14,5 % par rapport à l'année 2015) et plus de 13 millions de points ont été retirés (ONISR, 2017b). Afin de comprendre quelles motivations sous-tendent ces violations de la loi, nous avons mené une enquête en ligne sur un échantillon représentatif de 1 021 conducteurs français. Conformément à nos attentes, nous avons constaté que les femmes et les conducteurs âgés déclaraient une plus grande conformité à la loi. Néanmoins, les effets de l'âge et du genre sur le respect des règles restent de faible ampleur dans notre échantillon. En outre, nous avons identifié plusieurs processus psychologiques impliqués dans la relation entre les conducteurs et les règles de sécurité telles que le biais d'auto-complaisance ou le faux consensus. La plupart des personnes interrogées mettent en cause la légitimité de certaines règles et ont tendance à les considérer comme conditionnelles. Ce relativisme peut expliquer pour partie la réalisation d'infractions par les conducteurs. En effet, ils ont tendance à substituer aux règles de conduite officielles des normes informelles en fonction du contexte de conduite, et le strict respect des règles de sécurité est souvent remplacé par une approche conditionnelle. Les politiques publiques doivent tenir compte du scepticisme des conducteurs quant à la légitimité des règles de sécurité routière. Il est notamment recommandé de modifier les stratégies de communication lors de la mise en oeuvre de nouvelles mesures et un renforcement des contrôles des règles tout en s'assurant de leur légitimité et leur effectivité

Physicochemical characterization and study of molar mass of industrial gelatins by AsFlFFF-UV/MALS and chemometric approach

Industrial gelatins have different physicochemical properties that mainly depend of the raw materials origin and the extraction conditions. These properties are closely related to the molar mass distribution of these gelatins. Several methods exist to characterize molar mass distribution of polymer, including the Asymmetrical Flow Field Flow Fractionation method. The goal of this study is to analyze the relationship between physicochemical properties and the gelatins molar mass distribution obtained by Asymmetrical Flow Field Flow Fractionation. In this study, 49 gelatins samples extracted from pig skin are characterized in terms of gel strength and viscosity and their molar mass distribution are analyzed by Asymmetrical Flow Field Flow Fractionation coupled to an Ultraviolet and Multi Angle Light Scattering detector. This analytical method is an interesting tool for studying, simultaneously, the primary chains and the high-molar-mass fraction corresponding to the polymer chains. Correlation analysis between molar mass distribution data from the different fractions highlights the importance of high molar mass polymer chains to explain the gel strength and viscosity of gelatins. These results are confirmed by an additional chemometric approach based on the UV absorbance of gelatin fractograms to predict gel strength (r2Cal = 0.85) and viscosity (r2Cal = 0.79)

Impact of hormonal therapy on HIV‐1 immune markers in cis women and gender minorities

Background: Although sex hormones are recognized to induce immune variations, the effect of hormonal therapy use on immunity is only poorly understood. Here, we quantified how hormonal therapy use affects HIV‐1 immune markers in cis women (CW) and trans women and non‐binary people (TNBP) with HIV. Methods: We considered CD4, CD8 and lymphocyte measurements from cis men (CM), CW and TNBP in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study. We modelled HIV‐1 markers using linear mixed‐effects models with an interaction between ‘gender’ (CW, TNBP) and ‘hormonal therapy use’ (yes/no). Models were adjusted on age, ethnicity, education level, time since start of antiretroviral therapy and use of intravenous drugs. We assessed the inflammatory effect of hormonal therapy use in 31 TNBP using serum proteomics measurements of 92 inflammation markers. Results: We included 54 083 measurements from 3092 CW and 83 TNBP, and 147 230 measurements from 8611 CM. Hormonal therapy use increased CD4 count and CD4:CD8 ratio in TNBP more than in CW (p$_{interaction}$ = 0.02 and 0.007, respectively). TNBP with hormonal therapy use had significantly higher CD4 counts [median = 772 cells/μL, interquartile range (IQR): 520–1006] than without (617 cells/μL, 426–892). This was similar to the effect of CW versus CM on CD4 T cells. Hormonal therapy use did not affect serum protein concentrations in TNBP. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential role of hormonal therapy use in modulating the immune system among other biological and social factors, especially in TNBP with HIV

Design of new resonant haloscopes in the search for the dark matter axion: A review of the first steps in the RADES collaboration

With the increasing interest in dark matter axion detection through haloscopes, in which different international groups are currently involved, the RADES group was established in 2016 with the goal of developing very sensitive detection systems to be operated in dipole magnets. This review deals with the work developed by this collaboration during its first five years: from the first designs—based on the multi-cavity concept, aiming to increase the haloscope volume, and thereby improve sensitivity—to their evolution, data acquisition design, and finally, the first experimental run. Moreover, the envisaged work within RADES for both dipole and solenoid magnets in the short and medium term is also presented.This work has been funded by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) under projects FPA-2016-76978-C3-2-P (supported by the grant FPI BES-2017-079787) and PID2019-108122GB-C33, and was supported by the CERN Doctoral Studentship programme. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under grant ERC-2018-StG-802836 (AxScale project). IGI acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC) under grant ERC-2017-AdG-788781 (IAXO+ project)