HOW CAN WE USE WEBCT TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE THE MINORITY FRANCOPHONE AND FRENCH IMMERSION EXPERIENCE IN WESTERN CANADA?

Whether one is talking of early, late or partial French immersion or minority francophone programs in western Canada a fundamental problem that plagues the typical minority francophone or immersion class is the limited opportunitiy for the students to communicate on social and academic issues using French. What I am proposing is a model that allows unlimited use of French whenever they wish using technology. For many years in western Canada I taught mixed classes of francophone and anglophone students in which the language of instruction was either French or English. The difference in academic performance of both francophone and anglophone students, when the assigned readings were done in either their first or second language of French or English, was understandably remarkable. Whereas the Quebecois students were linguistically secure in the French medium classes, they were reduced to linguistically and socially insecure roles in the English medium classes. The converse was true of the Anglophone students who became subdued and less confident as they moved from classes in which thei

Synthesis of C5-tetrazole derivatives of 2-amino-adipic acid displaying NMDA glutamate receptor antagonism.

International audienceFive derivatives of 2-amino-adipic acid bearing a tetrazole-substituted in C5 position were synthesized. These compounds displayed selective antagonism towards N-methyl-D: -aspartate (NMDA) receptors compared with AMPA receptors, and they were devoid of any neurotoxicity. Among these five analogues, one exhibited a higher affinity for synaptic NMDA responses than the other four. Therefore, C5 tetrazole-substituted of 2-amino-adipic acid represent an interesting series of new NMDA receptor antagonists. This approach may be considered as a new strategy to develop ligands specifically targeted to synaptic or extra-synaptic NMDA receptors

Cell uptake of a biosensor detected by hyperpolarized 129Xe NMR: The transferrin case

International audienceFor detection of biological events in vitro, sensors using hyperpolarized 129Xe NMR can become a powerful tool, provided the approach can bridge the gap in sensitivity. Here we propose constructs based on the non-selective grafting of cryptophane precursors on holo-transferrin. This biological system was chosen because there are many receptors on the cell surface, and endocytosis further increases this density. The study of these biosensors with K562 cell suspensions via fluorescence microscopy and 129Xe NMR indicates a strong interaction, as well as interesting features such as the capacity of xenon to enter the cryptophane even when the biosensor is endocytosed, while keeping a high level of polarization. Despite a lack of specificity for transferrin receptors, undoubtedly due to the hydrophobic character of the cryptophane moiety that attracts the biosensor into the cell membrane, these biosensors allow the first in-cell probing of biological events using hyperpolarized xenon