Multi-domain industrial benchmarks for eddy-current modelling: the COFREND working group

9 pagesInternational audienceDescription of the COFREND working group dedicated to the multi-domain industrial benchmarks for eddy-current modelling and some of their configurations

Antioxidant and Antifungal Activities of Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Essential Oil of Syzygium aromaticum and a Combination of Both Extracts against Three Dermatophytes

To contribute in the research of better drugs against dermatophytosis, we evaluated the antioxidant and antidermatophytic activities of cocoa butter, cloves essential oil, and a mixture of both extracts. The cocoa butter was obtained by boiling the cocoa paste. The essential oil extracted by hydrodistillation was chemically analysed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The antioxidant activity was determined using the DPPH scavenging method, and  the antidermatophytic activity was evaluated using the agar dilution method. The essential oil, majoritary constituated by eugenol (87.62%), β-caryophyllene (5.88%), and β-bisabolene (4.41%), had an antiradical power (4.22 x 10-2) higher than that of BHT (4.00 x 10-3), like the cocoa butter and essential oil mixture (6.06 x 10-3). The essential oil was more active than the griseofulvin: it was fungicidal at 400 ppm against Trichophyton rubrum, and at 900 ppm against Microsporum gypseumand Trichophyton tonsurans. The cocoa butter activity was low, but the mixture with the essential oil had an important activity with inhibitory percentages of 78.69 %, 88.27 %, 91.20% against T. rubrum (at 400 ppm), T. tonsurans(at 900 ppm)and M. gypseum (at 900 ppm)respectively. Cloves essential oil and the mixture with cocoa butter can be used to formulate new drugs against dermatophytes.

Tendon lesion and VEGF-111 injection

Introduction: Tendon lesion is one of the most frequent pathology in sports and by physical workers. This pathology often becomes chronic. For this reason, it is of interest to develop new treatments. Injection of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) seems to be a promising one by releasing growth factors (GF) locally. Among all the GF released by activated platelets, the vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) is known to induce positive effects on vascular function and angiogenesis, and could be implicated in the healing process of tendons. Recently, a novel VEGF-A isoform was identified, the VEGF-111, a biologically active and proteolysis-resistant VEGF-A isoform, also known to present beneficial effects on ischemic diseases. This prompted us to evaluate whether VEGF-111 would have a therapeutic interest within the framework of the tendon pathology. Methods: 60 Rats were divided into 2 groups: A: control (no injection), B: VEGF-111 treatment. A 5mm defect was surgically induced in rat Achilles tendon after resection of plantaris tendon. Rats received a local injection of VEGF-111 (100ng) in situ after the surgery and were placed in their cages without immobilization. After 5, 15 and 30 days, the traumatized Achilles tendons of 10 rats of both groups were removed and dissected during their healing process. Immediately after sampling, tendons were submitted to a biomechanical tensile test up to rupture, using a “Cryo-jaw”. Rats were then euthanized. Statistical analyses were made with an ANOVA. Values are significant when p-value is below 0.05. Results: Our results showed that the developed force necessary to induce tendon rupture during biomechanical tensile test was greater for tendons which had received an injection of 100ng of VEGF-111. These results were already noticed from day 5 onwards. The ratio between force and weight increased with time in both groups, but this ratio was greater for tendons which had been submitted to an injection of VEGF111. The surface area of the section of the tendons increased between 5 and 15 days followed by a stabilization. After 30 days, sections in both groups were similar. Thus, the constraint was similar after 5 and 15 days but was better for VEGF111 group after one month. Discussion - Conclusion: This experimentation has shown that a 100ng injection of VEGF-111 stimulated tendon healing process as suggested by the increased force needed to break tendons during its healing process and the increased of constraint in comparison with the control group. Other experimentations with different concentration of VEGF111 are now in process. Acknowledgement : This experimentation was partially financed by “Standard de Liège 2007” and “Lejeune-Lechien 2008” grants

Injection de concentrés plaquettaires et régénération tendineuse : modèle animal

peer reviewedIntroduction : La régénération tendineuse en traumatologie du sport demeure un processus actuellement difficile à gérer et de nouvelles voies thérapeutiques sont en cours d’exploration. La littérature récente fait état d’effets bénéfiques sur la régénération tendineuse de concentrés plaquettaires (platelet-rich plasma ou PRP), administrés in situ, dus au relargage de facteurs de croissance par activation des plaquettes et à leur activité stimulante au cours de la cicatrisation. Dès lors, nous avons souhaité tester l’effet bénéfique de ce traitement sur des rats préalablement lésés au niveau de leur tendon d’Achille. Matériel et Méthode : Une section unilatérale du tendon d’Achille a été réalisée chez 60 rats Sprague Dawley adultes. De ces 60 rats, 30 ont subi une cicatrisation naturelle (rats contrôles) et 30 rats ont bénéficié d’une injection in situ de PRP le jour de la lésion. Diverses études biomécaniques, biochimiques et histologiques ont été réalisées sur ces tendons d’Achille en cours de cicatrisation à respectivement J5, J15 et J30 après lésion. Dix rats supplémentaires ont servi de témoins sains (sans lésion tendineuse). L’étude biomécanique appréciait la résistance maximale des tendons à la traction à l’aide de mors type « cryo-jaws ». L’étude histologique évaluait l’évolution cellulaire pendant la phase de cicatrisation. L’analyse transcriptomique étudiait l’expression de gènes codant pour le collagène de type III, les métalloprotéases matricielles (MMP-9) et la ténomoduline (TNMD), ainsi qu’un dosage d’hydroxyproline permettant d’évaluer la quantité de collagène présente dans le tendon au cours de la cicatrisation. Résultats : L’étude biomécanique démontre la meilleure résistance des tendons traités avec du PRP par rapport aux tendons contrôles à J5 (+19%), J15 (+30%) et significativement à J30 (+43%). L’étude histologique suggère qu’une injection de PRP stimule la prolifération cellulaire, favorise l’organisation tissulaire, stimule l’angiogenèse et la réorganisation architectural du collagène. L’étude biochimique ne permet pas d’expliquer les effets bénéfiques puisqu’il n’y a pas de différence dans l’expression des gènes des différentes molécules matricielles (collagène de type III, MMP-9 et TNMD) ni dans la quantité d’hydroxyproline qui s’accroit au cours du temps de la cicatrisation de façon similaire dans les deux groupes. Conclusion : L’injection de PRP améliore et accélère la cicatrisation tendineuse et augmente la résistance aux contraintes mécaniques du tendon en cours de cicatrisation

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Les droits disciplinaires des fonctions publiques : « unification », « harmonisation » ou « distanciation ». A propos de la loi du 26 avril 2016 relative à la déontologie et aux droits et obligations des fonctionnaires

The production of tt‾ , W+bb‾ and W+cc‾ is studied in the forward region of proton–proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98±0.02 fb−1 . The W bosons are reconstructed in the decays W→ℓν , where ℓ denotes muon or electron, while the b and c quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions.The production of $t\overline{t}$, $W+b\overline{b}$ and $W+c\overline{c}$ is studied in the forward region of proton-proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98 $\pm$ 0.02 \mbox{fb}^{-1}. The $W$ bosons are reconstructed in the decays $W\rightarrow\ell\nu$, where $\ell$ denotes muon or electron, while the $b$ and $c$ quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions

Increased nutrient supply to the Southern Ocean during the Holocene and its implications for the pre-industrial atmospheric CO₂ rise

A rise in the atmospheric CO2 concentration of ~20 parts per million over the course of the Holocene has long been recognized as exceptional among interglacials and is in need of explanation. Previous hypotheses involved natural or anthropogenic changes in terrestrial biomass, carbonate compensation in response to deglacial outgassing of oceanic CO2, and enhanced shallow water carbonate deposition. Here, we compile new and previously published fossil-bound nitrogen isotope records from the Southern Ocean that indicate a rise in surface nitrate concentration through the Holocene. When coupled with increasing or constant export production, these data suggest an acceleration of nitrate supply to the Southern Ocean surface from underlying deep water. This change would have weakened the ocean’s biological pump that stores CO2 in the ocean interior, possibly explaining the Holocene atmospheric CO2 rise. Over the Holocene, the circum-North Atlantic region cooled, and the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water appears to have slowed. Thus, the ‘seesaw’ in deep ocean ventilation between the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean that has been invoked for millennial-scale events, deglaciations and the last interglacial period may have also operated, albeit in a more gradual form, over the Holocene

Observation of the B0 → ρ0ρ0 decay from an amplitude analysis of B0 → (π+π−)(π+π−) decays

Proton–proton collision data recorded in 2011 and 2012 by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb−1 , are analysed to search for the charmless B0→ρ0ρ0 decay. More than 600 B0→(π+π−)(π+π−) signal decays are selected and used to perform an amplitude analysis, under the assumption of no CP violation in the decay, from which the B0→ρ0ρ0 decay is observed for the first time with 7.1 standard deviations significance. The fraction of B0→ρ0ρ0 decays yielding a longitudinally polarised final state is measured to be fL=0.745−0.058+0.048(stat)±0.034(syst) . The B0→ρ0ρ0 branching fraction, using the B0→ϕK⁎(892)0 decay as reference, is also reported as B(B0→ρ0ρ0)=(0.94±0.17(stat)±0.09(syst)±0.06(BF))×10−6

Measurement of the (eta c)(1S) production cross-section in proton-proton collisions via the decay (eta c)(1S) -&gt; p(p)over-bar

The production of the $\eta_c (1S)$ state in proton-proton collisions is probed via its decay to the $p \bar{p}$ final state with the LHCb detector, in the rapidity range $2.0 6.5$ GeV/c. The cross-section for prompt production of $\eta_c (1S)$ mesons relative to the prompt $J/\psi$ cross-section is measured, for the first time, to be $\sigma_{\eta_c (1S)}/\sigma_{J/\psi} = 1.74 \pm 0.29 \pm 0.28 \pm 0.18 _{B}$ at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.7 fb$^{-1}$, and $\sigma_{\eta_c (1S)}/\sigma_{J/\psi} = 1.60 \pm 0.29 \pm 0.25 \pm 0.17 _{B}$ at $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV using 2.0 fb$^{-1}$. The uncertainties quoted are, in order, statistical, systematic, and that on the ratio of branching fractions of the $\eta_c (1S)$ and $J/\psi$ decays to the $p \bar{p}$ final state. In addition, the inclusive branching fraction of $b$-hadron decays into $\eta_c (1S)$ mesons is measured, for the first time, to be $B ( b \rightarrow \eta_c X ) = (4.88 \pm 0.64 \pm 0.25 \pm 0.67 _{B}) \times 10^{-3}$, where the third uncertainty includes also the uncertainty on the $J/\psi$ inclusive branching fraction from $b$-hadron decays. The difference between the $J/\psi$ and $\eta_c (1S)$ meson masses is determined to be $114.7 \pm 1.5 \pm 0.1$ MeV/c$^2$.The production of the $\eta _c (1S)$ state in proton-proton collisions is probed via its decay to the $p\overline{p}$ final state with the LHCb detector, in the rapidity range $2.0 6.5 \mathrm{{\,GeV/}{ c}}$ . The cross-section for prompt production of $\eta _c (1S)$ mesons relative to the prompt ${{ J}}/{\psi }$ cross-section is measured, for the first time, to be $\sigma _{\eta _c (1S)}/\sigma _{{{{ J}}/{\psi }}} = 1.74\, \pm \,0.29\, \pm \, 0.28\, \pm \,0.18 _{{\mathcal{B}}}$ at a centre-of-mass energy ${\sqrt{s}} = 7 {~\mathrm{TeV}}$ using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.7 fb$^{-1}$ , and $\sigma _{\eta _c (1S)}/\sigma _{{{{ J}}/{\psi }}} = 1.60 \pm 0.29 \pm 0.25 \pm 0.17 _{{\mathcal{B}}}$ at ${\sqrt{s}} = 8 {~\mathrm{TeV}}$ using 2.0 fb$^{-1}$ . The uncertainties quoted are, in order, statistical, systematic, and that on the ratio of branching fractions of the $\eta _c (1S)$ and ${{ J}}/{\psi }$ decays to the $p\overline{p}$ final state. In addition, the inclusive branching fraction of ${b}$ -hadron decays into $\eta _c (1S)$ mesons is measured, for the first time, to be ${\mathcal{B}}( b {\rightarrow } \eta _c X ) = (4.88\, \pm \,0.64\, \pm \,0.29\, \pm \, 0.67 _{{\mathcal{B}}}) \times 10^{-3}$ , where the third uncertainty includes also the uncertainty on the ${{ J}}/{\psi }$ inclusive branching fraction from ${b}$ -hadron decays. The difference between the ${{ J}}/{\psi }$ and $\eta _c (1S)$ meson masses is determined to be $114.7 \pm 1.5 \pm 0.1 {\mathrm {\,MeV\!/}c^2}$ .The production of the $\eta_c (1S)$ state in proton-proton collisions is probed via its decay to the $p \bar{p}$ final state with the LHCb detector, in the rapidity range $2.0 6.5$ GeV/c. The cross-section for prompt production of $\eta_c (1S)$ mesons relative to the prompt $J/\psi$ cross-section is measured, for the first time, to be $\sigma_{\eta_c (1S)}/\sigma_{J/\psi} = 1.74 \pm 0.29 \pm 0.28 \pm 0.18 _{B}$ at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.7 fb$^{-1}$, and $\sigma_{\eta_c (1S)}/\sigma_{J/\psi} = 1.60 \pm 0.29 \pm 0.25 \pm 0.17 _{B}$ at $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV using 2.0 fb$^{-1}$. The uncertainties quoted are, in order, statistical, systematic, and that on the ratio of branching fractions of the $\eta_c (1S)$ and $J/\psi$ decays to the $p \bar{p}$ final state. In addition, the inclusive branching fraction of $b$-hadron decays into $\eta_c (1S)$ mesons is measured, for the first time, to be $B ( b \rightarrow \eta_c X ) = (4.88 \pm 0.64 \pm 0.29 \pm 0.67 _{B}) \times 10^{-3}$, where the third uncertainty includes also the uncertainty on the $J/\psi$ inclusive branching fraction from $b$-hadron decays. The difference between the $J/\psi$ and $\eta_c (1S)$ meson masses is determined to be $114.7 \pm 1.5 \pm 0.1$ MeV/c$^2$