1,089 research outputs found
Decision-Making Measured by the Iowa Gambling Task in Patients with Alcohol Use Disorders Choosing Harm Reduction versus Relapse Prevention Program
AIMS: Two main therapeutic programs were offered to patients suffering from alcohol use disorders (AUDs): avoid the alcohol by abstinence or controlling their consumption. After information and motivational sessions, the patient chooses his own therapeutic plan. However, patients with AUD exhibit poor decision-making. The purpose of this study was to investigate the decision-making in AUD by comparing patients who chose to reduce and control their consumption to those who chose abstinence program.
METHODS: Sixty-seven subjects with alcohol use disorder were included (AUD group) for treatment, choosing either a relapse prevention program (RPP) or a harm reduction program (HRP). Patients were compared to a healthy control group (n = 31). Cognitive skills were assessed through the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test, the National Adult Reading Test, the Trail Making Test and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT).
RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients with AUD chose the RPP while 30 followed a HRP. The AUD group performed worse than controls on the IGT. The RPP group had significantly lower performance than both HRP and control groups (these later groups being not statistically different). No correlation was observed between the available clinical, cognitive and intellectual measures.
CONCLUSION: This study confirms that the decision-making process of patients with an alcohol use disorder is impaired. However, the 2 groups differ on the IGT scores, despite comparable clinical and cognitive profiles. The patients\u27 decision-making abilities could be a useful guide when developing therapeutic programs
Magnetic field induced by elliiptical instability in a rotating tidally distorded sphere
It is usually believed that the geo-dynamo of the Earth or more generally of
other planets, is created by the convective fluid motions inside their molten
cores. An alternative to this thermal or compositional convection can however
be found in the inertial waves resonances generated by the eventual precession
of these planets or by the possible tidal distorsions of their liquid cores. We
will review in this paper some of our experimental works devoted to the
elliptical instability and present some new results when the experimental fluid
is a liquid metal. We show in particular that an imposed magnetic field is
distorted by the spin- over mode generated by the elliptical instability. In
our experiment, the field is weak (20 Gauss) and the Lorenz force is negligible
compared to the inertial forces, therefore the magnetic field does not modify
the fluid flow and the pure hydrodynamics growth rates of the instability are
recovered through magnetic measurements
Investigation of nosocomial pneumocystis infections: usefulness of longitudinal screening of epidemic and post-epidemic pneumocystis genotypes
BACKGROUND: Twenty-five patients, of whom 22 were renal transplant recipients, developed Pneumocystis jirovecii infections at the nephrology department of Reims University Hospital (France) from September 2008 to October 2009, whereas only four sporadic cases had been diagnosed in this department over the 14 previous years.
AIM: This outbreak was investigated by analysing patient encounters and P. jirovecii types.
METHODS: A transmission map was drawn up. P. jirovecii typing at DHPS, ITS and mtLSU rRNA sequences was performed in the patients of the cluster (18 patients with Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) and seven colonized patients), 10 unlinked control patients (six PCP patients and four colonized patients), as well as 23 other patients diagnosed with P. jirovecii (nine PCP patients and 14 colonized patients) in the same department over a three-year post-epidemic period.
FINDINGS: Eleven encounters between patients harbouring the same types were observed. Three PCP patients and one colonized patient were considered as possible index cases. The most frequent types in the cluster group and the control group were identical. However, their frequency was significantly higher in the first than in the second group (P < 0.01). Identical types were also identified in the post-epidemic group, suggesting a second outbreak due to the same strain, contemporary to a disruption in prevention measures.
CONCLUSIONS: These results provide additional data on the role of both PCP and colonized patients as infectious sources. Longitudinal screening of P. jirovecii types in infected patients, including colonized patients, is required in the investigation of the fungus\u27s circulation within hospitals
Obscured Starburst Activity in High Redshift Clusters and Groups
Using Spitzer-MIPS 24um imaging and Keck spectroscopy we examine the nature
of the obscured star forming population in three clusters and three groups at
z~0.9. These six systems are components of the Cl1604 supercluster, the largest
structure imaged by Spitzer at redshifts near unity. We find that the average
density of 24um-detected galaxies within the Cl1604 clusters is nearly twice
that of the surrounding field and that this overdensity scales with the
cluster's dynamical state. The 24um-bright members often appear optically
unremarkable and exhibit only moderate [OII] line emission due to severe
obscuration. Their spatial distribution suggests they are an infalling
population, but an examination of their spectral properties, morphologies and
optical colors indicate they are not simply analogs of the field population
that have yet to be quenched. Using stacked composite spectra, we find the
24um-detected cluster and group galaxies exhibit elevated levels of Balmer
absorption compared to galaxies undergoing normal, continuous star formation. A
similar excess is not observed in field galaxies with equivalent infrared
luminosities, indicating a greater fraction of the detected cluster and group
members have experienced a burst of star formation in the recent past compared
to their counterparts in the field. Our results suggest that gas-rich galaxies
at high redshift experience a temporary increase in their star formation
activity as they assemble into denser environments. Using HST-ACS imaging we
find that disturbed morphologies are common among the 24um-detected cluster and
group members and become more prevalent in regions of higher galaxy density. We
conclude that mergers are the dominant triggering mechanism responsible for the
enhanced star formation found in the Cl1604 groups, while a mix of harassment
and mergers are likely driving the activity of the cluster galaxies.Comment: 18 pages, 19 figures, submitted to Ap
A systematic numerical study of the tidal instability in a rotating triaxial ellipsoid
The full non-linear evolution of the tidal instability is studied numerically
in an ellipsoidal fluid domain relevant for planetary cores applications. Our
numerical model, based on a finite element method, is first validated by
reproducing some known analytical results. This model is then used to address
open questions that were up to now inaccessible using theoretical and
experimental approaches. Growth rates and mode selection of the instability are
systematically studied as a function of the aspect ratio of the ellipsoid and
as a function of the inclination of the rotation axis compared to the
deformation plane. We also quantify the saturation amplitude of the flow driven
by the instability and calculate the viscous dissipation that it causes. This
tidal dissipation can be of major importance for some geophysical situations
and we thus derive general scaling laws which are applied to typical planetary
cores
A sulfur-rich pi-electron acceptor derived from 5,5 '-bithiazolidinylidene: charge-transfer complex vs. charge-transfer salt
International audienceNovel pi-electron acceptors are still highly desirable for the formation of conducting salts or as n-dopable semiconductors. We describe here two synthetic approaches to substitute a dicyanovinylidene group, C=C(CN)(2) to a thioketone (C=S) in the recently described DEBTTT acceptor where DEBTTT stands for (E)-3,3'-diethyl-5,5'-bithiazolidinylidene-2,4,2',4'-tetrathione. These electron withdrawing groups enhance the electron accepting ability as demonstrated through electrochemical investigations, without hindering the formation of short intra-and intermolecular S center dot center dot center dot S contacts in the solid state. Association of this acceptor 1 with tetramethyltetrathiafulvalene (TMTTF) and decamethylferrocene (Fe(Cp*)(2)) afforded 1 : 1 adducts which were analyzed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Combined with vibrational and magnetic properties, it appears that [TMTTF][1] behaves as a neutral charge-transfer complex while [Fe(Cp*)(2)][1] is an ionic salt. The concentration of the spin density on the exocyclic sulfur atoms in 1(-center dot) favors the setting of direct anti-ferromagnetic interactions in [Fe(Cp*)(2)][1
Targeting endothelial connexin40 inhibits tumor growth by reducing angiogenesis and improving vessel perfusion.
Endothelial connexin40 (Cx40) contributes to regulate the structure and function of vessels. We have examined whether the protein also modulates the altered growth of vessels in tumor models established in control mice (WT), mice lacking Cx40 (Cx40-/-), and mice expressing the protein solely in endothelial cells (Tie2-Cx40). Tumoral angiogenesis and growth were reduced, whereas vessel perfusion, smooth muscle cell (SMC) coverage and animal survival were increased in Cx40-/- but not Tie2-Cx40 mice, revealing a critical involvement of endothelial Cx40 in transformed tissues independently of the hypertensive status of Cx40-/- mice. As a result, Cx40-/- mice bearing tumors survived significantly longer than corresponding controls, including after a cytotoxic administration. Comparable observations were made in WT mice injected with a peptide targeting Cx40, supporting the Cx40 involvement. This involvement was further confirmed in the absence of Cx40 or by peptide-inhibition of this connexin in aorta-sprouting, matrigel plug and SMC migration assays, and associated with a decreased expression of the phosphorylated form of endothelial nitric oxide synthase. The data identify Cx40 as a potential novel target in cancer treatment
Glutathione is key to the synergistic enhancement of doxorubicin and etoposide by polyphenols in leukaemia cell lines
Recently published in Nature: Cell Death and Discovery,
Mahbub et al.1 have demonstrated that polyphenols can
synergistically enhance the action of the topoisomerase II
inhibitors: doxorubicin and etoposide in leukaemia cells. A
reduction of glutathione (GSH) was strongly associated with
sensitising cells to the pro-apoptotic effects of polyphenols when used in combination with doxorubicin or etoposide. Importantly, when polyphenols and topoisomerase II inhibitors were combined, it was possible to induce a
synergistic decrease in cell proliferation (measured as ATP
levels), cell-cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis in
leukaemia cell lines
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