Surface effects in nucleation and growth of smectic B crystals in thin samples

We present an experimental study of the surface effects (interactions with the container walls) during the nucleation and growth of smectic B crystals from the nematic in free growth and directional solidification of a mesogenic molecule ($C_4H_9-(C_6H_{10})_2CN$) called CCH4 in thin (of thickness in the 10 $\mu$m range) samples. We follow the dynamics of the system in real time with a polarizing microscope. The inner surfaces of the glass-plate samples are coated with polymeric films, either rubbed polyimid (PI) films or monooriented poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) films deposited by friction at high temperature. The orientation of the nematic and the smectic B is planar. In PI-coated samples, the orientation effect of SmB crystals is mediated by the nematic, whereas, in PTFE-coated samples, it results from a homoepitaxy phenomenon occurring for two degenerate orientations. A recrystallization phenomenon partly destroys the initial distribution of crystal orientations. In directional solidification of polycrystals in PTFE-coated samples, a particular dynamics of faceted grain boundary grooves is at the origin of a dynamical mechanism of grain selection. Surface effects also are responsible for the nucleation of misoriented terraces on facets and the generation of lattice defects in the solid.Comment: 15 pages, 24 figures, submitted to PR

Baisse du recours aux soins et services de santé chez les patients atteints de polyarthriterhumatoïde active sévère à modérée débutant un traitement par le certolizumab pégol en France(étude observationnelle ECLAIR)

International audienc

MACVIA-LR (Fighting Chronic Diseases for Active and Healthy Ageing in Languedoc-Roussillon) : a Success Story of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing

The R\ue9gion Languedoc Roussillon is the umbrella organisation for an interconnected and integrated project on active and healthy ageing (AHA). It covers the 3 pillars of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA): (A) Prevention and health promotion, (B) Care and cure, (C) and (D) Active and independent living of elderly people. All sub-activities (poly-pharmacy, falls prevention initiative, prevention of frailty, chronic respiratory diseases, chronic diseases with multimorbidities, chronic infectious diseases, active and independent living and disability) have been included in MACVIA-LR which has a strong political commitment and involves all stakeholders (public, private, patients, policy makers) including CARSAT-LR and the Eurobiomed cluster. It is a Reference Site of the EIP on AHA. The framework of MACVIA-LR has the vision that the prevention and management of chronic diseases is essential for the promotion of AHA and for the reduction of handicap. The main objectives of MACVIA-LR are: (i) to develop innovative solutions for a network of Living labs in order to reduce avoidable hospitalisations and loss of autonomy while improving quality of life, (ii) to disseminate the innovation. The three years of MACVIA-LR activities are reported in this paper

A highly virulent variant of HIV-1 circulating in the Netherlands.

We discovered a highly virulent variant of subtype-B HIV-1 in the Netherlands. One hundred nine individuals with this variant had a 0.54 to 0.74 log <sub>10</sub> increase (i.e., a ~3.5-fold to 5.5-fold increase) in viral load compared with, and exhibited CD4 cell decline twice as fast as, 6604 individuals with other subtype-B strains. Without treatment, advanced HIV-CD4 cell counts below 350 cells per cubic millimeter, with long-term clinical consequences-is expected to be reached, on average, 9 months after diagnosis for individuals in their thirties with this variant. Age, sex, suspected mode of transmission, and place of birth for the aforementioned 109 individuals were typical for HIV-positive people in the Netherlands, which suggests that the increased virulence is attributable to the viral strain. Genetic sequence analysis suggests that this variant arose in the 1990s from de novo mutation, not recombination, with increased transmissibility and an unfamiliar molecular mechanism of virulence