56 research outputs found

    Suppression of the thermal hysteresis in magnetocaloric MnAs thin film by highly charged ion bombardment

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    We present the investigation on the modifications of structural and magnetic properties of MnAs thin film epitaxially grown on GaAs induced by slow highly charged ions bombardment under well-controlled conditions. The ion-induced defects facilitate the nucleation of one phase with respect to the other in the first-order magneto-structural MnAs transition with a consequent suppression of thermal hysteresis without any significant perturbation on the other structural and magnetic properties. In particular, the irradiated film keeps the giant magnetocaloric effect at room temperature opening new perspective on magnetic refrigeration technology for everyday use

    Investigations into the relationship between domoic acid and copepods in Scottish waters

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    This study investigated impacts of the algal toxin domoic acid (DA) on copepods in Scottish waters. Inspection of seasonal patterns revealed that several common copepods (Acartia spp. Dana, 1846, Calanus spp. Leach, 1816, Centropages spp. KrĂžyer, 1849, Pseudocalanus spp. Boeck, 1872, and Temora longicornis (MĂŒller O.F., 1785)) regularly coexist with potentially toxic species from the diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia H. Peragallo in H. Peragallo and M Peragallo, 1900. A short field study investigating the DA content of Calanus spp. at the Scottish Coastal Observatory site at Stonehaven recorded DA during every sampling event. The highest DA levels were associated with a July bloom (∌135000 cells L−1) of Pseudo-nitzschia cf. plurisecta Orive & PĂ©rez-Aicua 2013. Several studies have previously investigated effects of ingested DA on copepods but information on effects of dissolved DA is lacking, therefore, simple exposure experiments were carried out to measure mortality of copepod species at ecologically relevant concentrations of dissolved DA. The highest concentrations tested (≄ 50 ng DA mL−1) decreased survival in Temora longicornis only; survival of other copepod species was unaffected. However, T. longicornis feeding on non-toxic algae in the presence of dissolved DA did not accumulate DA in their tissue. This study provides evidence of the potential for Calanus spp. to act as vectors for DA to higher trophic levels in Scottish waters

    Environmental DNA Based Surveillance for the Highly Invasive Carpet Sea Squirt Didemnum vexillum : A Targeted Single-Species Approach

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    Funding Information: The authors would like to thank the site operators, owners and Solway Firth Partnership for allowing access and sample collection at studied sites visited during this study. Thanks also to Frank Armstrong, Katy Beaton, Maria Campbell, Pablo Dias, James Dooley, Judith Horrill, Nial McLeod, Warren Murray, Andrea Taylor, Joe Triscott, and Bill Turrell for contributing to field work and sample collection. The authors thank National Museums Scotland and particularly Fiona Ware for the loan of reference material (specimen register number NMS.Z.2015.82.8, 9 and 14 and NMS.Z.2018.2.2) which was used in the present study. KS thank the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for post-doctoral fellowship funding.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

    Magnetic properties changes of MnAs thin films irradiated with highly charged ions

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    We present the first investigation on the effect of highly charged ion bombardment on a manganese arsenide thin film. The MnAs films, 150 nm thick, are irradiated with 90 keV Ne9+^{9+} ions with a dose varying from 1.6×10121.6\times10^{12} to 1.6×10151.6\times10^{15} ions/cm2^2. The structural and magnetic properties of the film after irradiation are investigated using different techniques, namely, X-ray diffraction, magneto-optic Kerr effect and magnetic force microscope. Preliminary results are presented. From the study of the lattice spacing, we measure a change on the film structure that depends on the received dose, similarly to previous studies with other materials. Investigations on the surface show a strong modification of its magnetic properties

    A Solve-RD ClinVar-based reanalysis of 1522 index cases from ERN-ITHACA reveals common pitfalls and misinterpretations in exome sequencing

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    Purpose Within the Solve-RD project (https://solve-rd.eu/), the European Reference Network for Intellectual disability, TeleHealth, Autism and Congenital Anomalies aimed to investigate whether a reanalysis of exomes from unsolved cases based on ClinVar annotations could establish additional diagnoses. We present the results of the “ClinVar low-hanging fruit” reanalysis, reasons for the failure of previous analyses, and lessons learned. Methods Data from the first 3576 exomes (1522 probands and 2054 relatives) collected from European Reference Network for Intellectual disability, TeleHealth, Autism and Congenital Anomalies was reanalyzed by the Solve-RD consortium by evaluating for the presence of single-nucleotide variant, and small insertions and deletions already reported as (likely) pathogenic in ClinVar. Variants were filtered according to frequency, genotype, and mode of inheritance and reinterpreted. Results We identified causal variants in 59 cases (3.9%), 50 of them also raised by other approaches and 9 leading to new diagnoses, highlighting interpretation challenges: variants in genes not known to be involved in human disease at the time of the first analysis, misleading genotypes, or variants undetected by local pipelines (variants in off-target regions, low quality filters, low allelic balance, or high frequency). Conclusion The “ClinVar low-hanging fruit” analysis represents an effective, fast, and easy approach to recover causal variants from exome sequencing data, herewith contributing to the reduction of the diagnostic deadlock

    Stroke genetics informs drug discovery and risk prediction across ancestries

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    Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of stroke — the second leading cause of death worldwide — were conducted predominantly in populations of European ancestry1,2. Here, in cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses of 110,182 patients who have had a stroke (five ancestries, 33% non-European) and 1,503,898 control individuals, we identify association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci: 60 in primary inverse-variance-weighted analyses and 29 in secondary meta-regression and multitrait analyses. On the basis of internal cross-ancestry validation and an independent follow-up in 89,084 additional cases of stroke (30% non-European) and 1,013,843 control individuals, 87% of the primary stroke risk loci and 60% of the secondary stroke risk loci were replicated (P < 0.05). Effect sizes were highly correlated across ancestries. Cross-ancestry fine-mapping, in silico mutagenesis analysis3, and transcriptome-wide and proteome-wide association analyses revealed putative causal genes (such as SH3PXD2A and FURIN) and variants (such as at GRK5 and NOS3). Using a three-pronged approach4, we provide genetic evidence for putative drug effects, highlighting F11, KLKB1, PROC, GP1BA, LAMC2 and VCAM1 as possible targets, with drugs already under investigation for stroke for F11 and PROC. A polygenic score integrating cross-ancestry and ancestry-specific stroke GWASs with vascular-risk factor GWASs (integrative polygenic scores) strongly predicted ischaemic stroke in populations of European, East Asian and African ancestry5. Stroke genetic risk scores were predictive of ischaemic stroke independent of clinical risk factors in 52,600 clinical-trial participants with cardiometabolic disease. Our results provide insights to inform biology, reveal potential drug targets and derive genetic risk prediction tools across ancestries

    Le stigmate au miroir de l'estime de soi (le cas du désordre mental face à l'étiquetage psychiatrique)

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    La thĂšse est une contribution psychosociale Ă  la thĂ©orisation du phĂ©nomĂšne de l'Ă©tiquetage et de la stigmatisation. Il tire son inspiration du courant de l'interactionnisme symbolique et notamment de Ia thĂ©orie de l'Ă©tiquetage. Dans la premiĂšre partie, thĂ©orique, on cherche Ă  opĂ©rer une rĂ©vision de la notion de stigmate. Dans la seconde partie de la thĂšse, je me propose d'Ă©tudier de façon empirique l'effet du stigmate psychiatrique sur l'estime de soi. Je postule un effet miroir entre estime de soi et stigmate. De fait, l'altĂ©ration de l'estime de soi y sera conçue comme rĂ©ponse Ă  la stigmatisation Ă  travers l'intĂ©riorisation du jugement nĂ©gatif portĂ© sur soi. L'instrument utilisĂ© dans deux populations d'Ă©tude est l'Echelle d'Estime de Soi de Rosenberg. L'exposĂ© des rĂ©sultats de "enquĂȘte quantitative m'amĂšne Ă  reformuler mon hypothĂšse initiale et Ă  la considĂ©rer comme valide. Je prĂ©sente quatre Ă©tudes de cas et Ă  la suite leurs aspects contre-transfĂ©rentiels du point de vue de l'intervention clinique et de la recherche. Il s'agit de montrer l'utilitĂ© du concept de stigmate et de notions associĂ©es (comme l'abjection, la souillure, la dĂ©rĂ©liction acquise) dans l'investigation clinique.LYON2/BRON-BU (690292101) / SudocSudocFranceF
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