Near-wall velocity measurements by Particle-Shadow-Tracking

We report a new method to measure the velocity of a fluid in the vicinity of a wall. The method, that we call Particle-Shadow Tracking (PST), simply consists in seeding the fluid with a small number of fine tracer particles of density close to that of the fluid. The position of each particle and of its shadow on the wall are then tracked simultaneously, allowing one to accurately determine the distance separating tracers from the wall and therefore to extract the velocity field. We present an application of the method to the determination of the velocity profile inside a laminar density current flowing along an inclined plane

Simulation and evaluation of a new PET system based on liquid xenon as detection medium

présenté par J.P. CussoneauDue to its intrinsic physical properties, high density and atomic number, fast scintillation, high scintillation light yield and low ionization potential, liquid xenon is an excellent medium for the tracking and the accurate energy measurement of γ-rays in the MeV energy domain. The use of liquid xenon associated to a micro gap structure device[1] to measure 511 keV γ-rays in PET system is under investigation at Subatech. A Geant3 simulation of a full PET design made of lXe-TPC modules has been developed and the first estimations of the performances from a realistic detector are very promising: good overall sensitivity to 511 keV γ's (~ 93% for a 9 cm lXe module), good three-dimensional spatial resolution (250 µm FWHM, for first interaction vertex localization). The measurement of the 3 coordinates of the interaction vertices and the energy loss associated allow to reconstruct the correct Compton sequence of correlated annihilation γ-rays. Hence the capability to identify the first interaction vertex leads to major progresses in PET imaging: a parallax free PET tomograph with high detection sensitivity and spatial resolution. Moreover, such lXe-PET camera have an excellent rejection power on scattered events in 3D reconstruction mode

Fur glowing under ultraviolet: in situ analysis of porphyrin accumulation in the skin appendages of mammals

Examples of photoluminescence (PL) are being reported with increasing frequency in a wide range of organisms from diverse ecosystems. However, the chemical basis of this PL remains poorly defined, and our understanding of its potential ecological function is still superficial. Among mammals, recent analyses have identified free-base porphyrins as the compounds responsible for the reddish ultraviolet-induced photoluminescence (UV-PL) observed in the pelage of springhares and hedgehogs. However, the localization of the pigments within the hair largely remains to be determined. Here, we use photoluminescence multispectral imaging emission and excitation spectroscopy to detect, map, and characterize porphyrinic compounds in skin appendages in situ. We also document new cases of mammalian UV-PL caused by free-base porphyrins in distantly related species. Spatial distribution of the UV-PL is strongly suggestive of an endogenous origin of the porphyrinic compounds. We argue that reddish UV-PL is predominantly observed in crepuscular and nocturnal mammals because porphyrins are photodegradable. Consequently, this phenomenon may not have a specific function in intra- or interspecific communication but rather represents a byproduct of potentially widespread physiological processes.publishedVersio

A proposal for a high performance γ\gamma-camera based on liquid Xenon converter and gaseous photomultiplier for PET

présenté par D. Ther

Longitudinal liver stiffness assessment in patient with chronic hepatitis C undergoing antiviral therapy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS:Liver stiffness (LS) measurement by means of transient elastography (TE) is accurate to predict fibrosis stage. The effect of antiviral treatment and virologic response on LS was assessed and compared with untreated patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). METHODS: TE was performed at baseline, and at weeks 24, 48, and 72 in 515 patients with CHC. RESULTS: 323 treated (62.7%) and 192 untreated patients (37.3%) were assessed. LS experienced a significant decline in treated patients and remained stable in untreated patients at the end of study (P<0.0001). The decline was significant for patients with baseline LS ≥ 7.1 kPa (P<0.0001 and P 0.03, for LS ≥ 9.5 and ≥ 7.1 kPa vs lower values, respectively). Sustained virological responders and relapsers had a significant LS improvement whereas a trend was observed in nonresponders (mean percent change -16%, -10% and -2%, for SVR, RR and NR, respectively, P 0.03 for SVR vs NR). In multivariate analysis, high baseline LS (P<0.0001) and ALT levels, antiviral therapy and non-1 genotype were independent predictors of LS improvement. CONCLUSIONS: LS decreases during and after antiviral treatment in patients with CHC. The decrease is significant in sustained responders and relapsers (particularly in those with high baseline LS) and suggests an improvement in liver damage

Caspase-dependent immunogenicity of doxorubicin-induced tumor cell death

Systemic anticancer chemotherapy is immunosuppressive and mostly induces nonimmunogenic tumor cell death. Here, we show that even in the absence of any adjuvant, tumor cells dying in response to anthracyclins can elicit an effective antitumor immune response that suppresses the growth of inoculated tumors or leads to the regression of established neoplasia. Although both antracyclins and mitomycin C induced apoptosis with caspase activation, only anthracyclin-induced immunogenic cell death was immunogenic. Caspase inhibition by Z-VAD-fmk or transfection with the baculovirus inhibitor p35 did not inhibit doxorubicin (DX)-induced cell death, yet suppressed the immunogenicity of dying tumor cells in several rodent models of neoplasia. Depletion of dendritic cells (DCs) or CD8+T cells abolished the immune response against DX-treated apoptotic tumor cells in vivo. Caspase inhibition suppressed the capacity of DX-killed cells to be phagocytosed by DCs, yet had no effect on their capacity to elicit DC maturation. Freshly excised tumors became immunogenic upon DX treatment in vitro, and intratumoral inoculation of DX could trigger the regression of established tumors in immunocompetent mice. These results delineate a procedure for the generation of cancer vaccines and the stimulation of anti-neoplastic immune responses in vivo

An Asymptotic-Preserving all-speed scheme for the Euler and Navier-Stokes equations

We present an Asymptotic-Preserving 'all-speed' scheme for the simulation of compressible flows valid at all Mach-numbers ranging from very small to order unity. The scheme is based on a semi-implicit discretization which treats the acoustic part implicitly and the convective and diffusive parts explicitly. This discretization, which is the key to the Asymptotic-Preserving property, provides a consistent approximation of both the hyperbolic compressible regime and the elliptic incompressible regime. The divergence-free condition on the velocity in the incompressible regime is respected, and an the pressure is computed via an elliptic equation resulting from a suitable combination of the momentum and energy equations. The implicit treatment of the acoustic part allows the time-step to be independent of the Mach number. The scheme is conservative and applies to steady or unsteady flows and to general equations of state. One and Two-dimensional numerical results provide a validation of the Asymptotic-Preserving 'all-speed' properties

GENESIS: Co-location of Geodetic Techniques in Space

Improving and homogenizing time and space reference systems on Earth and, more directly, realizing the Terrestrial Reference Frame (TRF) with an accuracy of 1mm and a long-term stability of 0.1mm/year are relevant for many scientific and societal endeavors. The knowledge of the TRF is fundamental for Earth and navigation sciences. For instance, quantifying sea level change strongly depends on an accurate determination of the geocenter motion but also of the positions of continental and island reference stations, as well as the ground stations of tracking networks. Also, numerous applications in geophysics require absolute millimeter precision from the reference frame, as for example monitoring tectonic motion or crustal deformation for predicting natural hazards. The TRF accuracy to be achieved represents the consensus of various authorities which has enunciated geodesy requirements for Earth sciences. Today we are still far from these ambitious accuracy and stability goals for the realization of the TRF. However, a combination and co-location of all four space geodetic techniques on one satellite platform can significantly contribute to achieving these goals. This is the purpose of the GENESIS mission, proposed as a component of the FutureNAV program of the European Space Agency. The GENESIS platform will be a dynamic space geodetic observatory carrying all the geodetic instruments referenced to one another through carefully calibrated space ties. The co-location of the techniques in space will solve the inconsistencies and biases between the different geodetic techniques in order to reach the TRF accuracy and stability goals endorsed by the various international authorities and the scientific community. The purpose of this white paper is to review the state-of-the-art and explain the benefits of the GENESIS mission in Earth sciences, navigation sciences and metrology.Comment: 31 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Earth, Planets and Space (EPS

Statistical Inference of In Vivo Properties of Human DNA Methyltransferases from Double-Stranded Methylation Patterns

DNA methyltransferases establish methylation patterns in cells and transmit these patterns over cell generations, thereby influencing each cell's epigenetic states. Three primary DNA methyltransferases have been identified in mammals: DNMT1, DNMT3A and DNMT3B. Extensive in vitro studies have investigated key properties of these enzymes, namely their substrate specificity and processivity. Here we study these properties in vivo, by applying novel statistical analysis methods to double-stranded DNA methylation patterns collected using hairpin-bisulfite PCR. Our analysis fits a novel Hidden Markov Model (HMM) to the observed data, allowing for potential bisulfite conversion errors, and yields statistical estimates of parameters that quantify enzyme processivity and substrate specificity. We apply this model to methylation patterns established in vivo at three loci in humans: two densely methylated inactive X (Xi)-linked loci ( and ), and an autosomal locus (), where methylation densities are tissue-specific but moderate. We find strong evidence for a high level of processivity of DNMT1 at and , with the mean association tract length being a few hundred base pairs. Regardless of tissue types, methylation patterns at are dominated by DNMT1 maintenance events, similar to the two Xi-linked loci, but are insufficiently informative regarding processivity to draw any conclusions about processivity at that locus. At all three loci we find that DNMT1 shows a strong preference for adding methyl groups to hemi-methylated CpG sites over unmethylated sites. The data at all three loci also suggest low (possibly 0) association of the de novo methyltransferases, the DNMT3s, and are consequently uninformative about processivity or preference of these enzymes. We also extend our HMM to reanalyze published data on mouse DNMT1 activities in vitro. The results suggest shorter association tracts (and hence weaker processivity), and much longer non-association tracts than human DNMT1 in vivo