Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration with Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Retinal Pigment Epithelium

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) degradation is central to the onset and progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a growing and currently incurable form of blindness. Due to its key role in maintaining the retinal structure and homeostasis, cell replacement of the RPE monolayer has emerged as a promising therapy to rescue visual acuity in AMD patients. Thanks to the tremendous progress of pluripotent stem cell technologies over the last decade, a potentially unlimited new source for RPE transplantation has reached clinical trials. This review summarizes the methods by which pluripotent stem cell-based RPE cells are produced for transplantation, the delivery methods currently being adopted and the latest clinical outcomes with regard to the treatment of AMD

Biodiversité floristique du sous–bois et régénération naturelle de la forêt de la Patte d’Oie de Brazzaville, Congo

Les îlots forestiers de la Patte d’Oie à Brazzaville sont étudiés suivant trois relevés de 0,5 ha, correspondant chacun à un îlot. Mise en réserve en 1938, l’aire originelle est passée de 240 ha à 95 ha, soit moins de 39% de cette surface. A la différence des massifs forestiers qui ont disparu, sans livrer leur biodiversité, cette étude valorise cet écosystème unique au Congo. L’inventaire du sous-bois des trois îlots révèle 120 espèces et 47 familles dont les Rubiaceae (25,6 à 34,2%) dominent les Fabaceae (5,9 à 13,9%). La densité des espèces caractéristiques varie de 0,7 à 60 arbres.ha-1. L’indice de diversité biologique de Shannon (H’) est en moyenne de 1,9 ± 0,3 pour les ligneux, contre 3,5 ± 0,25 pour la flore totale. La diversité maximale (H’max) moyenne des ligneux est de 3,5 ± 0,1 et de 5,3 ± 0,01 pour la biodiversité globale. La moyenne de l’indice de Pielou des ligneux est de 0,5 ± 0,07 et de 0,7 ± 0,05 pour la flore totale. Quant à l’indice de Simpson, sa moyenne est de 0,5 ± 0,1 pour les ligneux et de 0,9 ± 0,03 pour la flore globale. Les coefficients de similarité de Jaccard varient respectivement pour les ligneux et la flore globale de 52 à 62% et de 50 à 55,6% ; alors que ceux de Sørensen oscillent de 69,2 à 77,6% et de 66,7 à 71,4%. Les différents indices montrent que cet écosystème possède une faible diversité floristique qui s’accompagne d’une hétérogénéité et d’une dominance dans la composition floristique. Les espèces dominantes étant typiques du sous-bois, la régénération naturelle accuse un déficit dans le recrutement des classes de diamètre, ce qui affecte sa dynamique et donc son maintien à long terme.Mots clés : Congo ; diversité floristique ; coefficient de similarité ; écosystème forestier urbain ; indice de diversité biologique

Relative Value Iteration for Stochastic Differential Games

We study zero-sum stochastic differential games with player dynamics governed by a nondegenerate controlled diffusion process. Under the assumption of uniform stability, we establish the existence of a solution to the Isaac's equation for the ergodic game and characterize the optimal stationary strategies. The data is not assumed to be bounded, nor do we assume geometric ergodicity. Thus our results extend previous work in the literature. We also study a relative value iteration scheme that takes the form of a parabolic Isaac's equation. Under the hypothesis of geometric ergodicity we show that the relative value iteration converges to the elliptic Isaac's equation as time goes to infinity. We use these results to establish convergence of the relative value iteration for risk-sensitive control problems under an asymptotic flatness assumption

On O(1) contributions to the free energy in Bethe Ansatz systems: the exact g-function

We investigate the sub-leading contributions to the free energy of Bethe Ansatz solvable (continuum) models with different boundary conditions. We show that the Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz approach is capable of providing the O(1) pieces if both the density of states in rapidity space and the quadratic fluctuations around the saddle point solution to the TBA are properly taken into account. In relativistic boundary QFT the O(1) contributions are directly related to the exact g-function. In this paper we provide an all-orders proof of the previous results of P. Dorey et al. on the g-function in both massive and massless models. In addition, we derive a new result for the g-function which applies to massless theories with arbitrary diagonal scattering in the bulk.Comment: 28 pages, 2 figures, v2: minor corrections, v3: minor corrections and references adde

HDX and In Silico Docking Reveal that Excipients Stabilize G-CSF via a Combination of Preferential Exclusion and Specific Hotspot Interactions

Assuring the stability of therapeutic proteins is a major challenge in the biopharmaceutical industry, and a better molecular understanding of the mechanisms through which formulations influence their stability is an ongoing priority. While the preferential exclusion effects of excipients are well known, the additional presence and impact of specific protein–excipient interactions have proven to be more elusive to identify and characterize. We have taken a combined approach of in silico molecular docking and hydrogen deuterium exchange-mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) to characterize the interactions between granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and some common excipients. These interactions were related to their influence on the thermal-melting temperatures (Tm) for the nonreversible unfolding of G-CSF in liquid formulations. The residue-level interaction sites predicted in silico correlated well with those identified experimentally and highlighted the potential impact of specific excipient interactions on the Tm of G-CSF

Resolved diffraction patterns from a reflection grating for atoms

We have studied atomic diffraction at normal incidence from an evanescent standing wave with a high resolution using velocity selective Raman transitions. We have observed up to 3 resolved orders of diffraction, which are well accounted for by a scalar diffraction theory. In our experiment the transverse coherence length of the source is greater than the period of the diffraction grating.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Child-parent shifting and shared decision-making for asthma management

Aim: To explore and describe child-parent shared decision-making for the management of childhood asthma. Methods: A qualitative descriptive interview based study was undertaken. Eight children and nine parents participated. The framework approach underpinned data analysis. Findings: A dynamic model of the way children and parents transfer, shift and share asthma management decisions was uncovered; asthma management decisions between children and parents were non-linear with responsibility transferring from parent to child under different conditions. Children made a range of decisions about their asthma, often sharing decisions with their parents. However, during acute illness episodes children often relied on parents to make decisions about their asthma. Conclusion: Neither the child nor parent have complete autonomy over asthma management decisions. Decision-making is a dynamic shifting and shared process, dependent on contextual factors and child and parent decision preferences

Long-Time Asymptotics for the Korteweg-de Vries Equation via Nonlinear Steepest Descent

We apply the method of nonlinear steepest descent to compute the long-time asymptotics of the Korteweg-de Vries equation for decaying initial data in the soliton and similarity region. This paper can be viewed as an expository introduction to this method.Comment: 31 page