252 research outputs found
Lessons Learned Through Time: An Examination of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic and the COVID-19 Crisis
The purpose of the present study is to compare the United Statesâ federal and state response to the 1918 Influenza Pandemic and the 2020 COVID-19 Crisis and the role of bureaucracy. Utilizing Qualitative Content Analysis, I examined 300 newspaper articles from The New York Times, The Clarion-Ledger, and The Daily Clarion-Ledger from July 1, 1918, to December 31, 1918, and March 1, 2020, to August 31, 2020. Through this analysis, I found that federal and state governments reacted to the 1918 flu very quickly, whereas the response to COVID-19 was hindered due to political in-fighting that impeded the bureaucracy and interfered with proper procedures to combat the outbreak. Charismatic rule did infringe to some extent on how the bureaucracy responded to COVID-19. This study shows that, while the response to the 1918 flu was much more efficient than the coronavirus pandemic response, the approaches of the federal and state governments to both pandemics were flawed in some way. Based on the findings of this piece, the United States needs an organization or agency on the federal, state, and regional levels to streamline pandemic response so that, in the event of a future epidemic or pandemic, the United States can respond promptly and focus on preserving lives
More than Altruism: An Examination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Involvement in the Chicago Campaign and Protest of the Vietnam War
This mix-method study examines whether Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.âs writing reflects altruism. Utilizing content analysis, I examined 60 of Kingâs sermons, speeches, letters, newspaper statements, and telegrams about the Chicago Campaign and the Vietnam War over two separate two-year periods starting from January 1, 1965 to December 31, 1967. Kingâs documents were scored based on the Altruistic Personality Scale for Leaders and Protest, which was created based on the characteristics of both passive and active bystanders derived from studies written by scholars of psychology. After analyzing the range, complexity, and density of Kingâs altruism, this study shows that all but seven of Kingâs writings expressed altruism with his writings concerning his involvement in the Chicago Campaign and protest of the Vietnam War being moderately altruistic. A pattern emerged within the documents indicating that King envisioned the formation of an entirely new social movement that sought to change the social structure of the northern cities by addressing three major social problems that he saw as paralyzing progress: education, employment, and housing. The effects of such a movement when considered within the range of events such as the Poor Peopleâs Campaign portend change for people of color and for the country as a whole
Evaluation du potentiel de lectines végétales dans le ciblage de médicaments anticancéreux : application à la photochimiothérapie
La photochimiothĂ©rapie (ou PCT) peut ĂȘtre utilisĂ©e pour le traitement de tumeurs solides (thĂ©rapie photodynamique ou PDT) ou pour le traitement ex vivo de diffĂ©rentes pathologies hĂ©matologiques (photochimiothĂ©rapie extracorporelle ou ECP), comme par exemple le lymphome de SĂ©zary. Le dĂ©veloppement de la PCT en oncologie demeure limitĂ© en raison de la faible sĂ©lectivitĂ© des photosensibilisants pour les cellules tumorales. Afin d'augmenter la biodisponibilitĂ© des photosensibilisants vis-Ă -vis des cellules cancĂ©reuses, nous proposons d'utiliser des lectines vĂ©gĂ©tales comme molĂ©cule vectrice. A cĂŽtĂ© des anticorps ou des peptides ciblant les cellules tumorales, les lectines peuvent ĂȘtre une approche complĂ©mentaire. En effet, certaines lectines reconnaissent des Ă©pitopes glycaniques prĂ©fĂ©rentiellement exprimĂ©s par les cellules tumorales. De plus, certaines d'entre elles prĂ©sentent des effets immunomodulateurs et/ou toxiques, induisant des effets anticancĂ©reux directs (toxicitĂ©) ou indirects (immuno-modulation). Deux lectines extraites de l'Ă©corce du mĂ»rier noir Morus nigra semblent ĂȘtre particuliĂšrement intĂ©ressantes. Il s'agit de Morniga G (MorG) et de Morniga M (MorM). Ces deux lectines prĂ©sentent des spĂ©cificitĂ©s glycaniques diffĂ©rentes. Alors que MorM est spĂ©cifique du mannose, MorG est spĂ©cifique du galactose. Cependant, des lectines prĂ©sentant une spĂ©cificitĂ© de reconnaissance monosaccharidique identique peuvent interagir avec des oligosaccharides trĂšs diffĂ©rents et induire des effets biologiques distincts. Ainsi, la reconnaissance glycanique mĂ©diĂ©e par MorM pourrait ĂȘtre sensible Ă des altĂ©rations fines de la N-glycosylation. De mĂȘme, MorG prĂ©sente une forte affinitĂ© pour certains antigĂšnes O-glycaniques associĂ©s aux tumeurs, tels que les antigĂšnes T (CD176; Gal1-3GalNAc1-O-Ser/Thr) et Tn (CD175; GalNAc1-O-Ser/Thr). Dans un premier temps, les effets biologiques de ces deux lectines ont Ă©tĂ© Ă©valuĂ©s sur des lymphocytes sains et leucĂ©miques. Elles prĂ©sentent des effets immunomodulateurs sur les lymphocytes sains et induisent un effet toxique Ă plus forte dose sur les cellules leucĂ©miques Jurkat. MorM pourrait interagir, en partie, avec la N-glycosylation de certains rĂ©cepteurs de mort tels que Fas, tandis que MorG pourrait interagir avec la O-glycosylation d'autres rĂ©cepteurs de mort comme TRAIL-R. Ainsi, ces deux lectines induiraient une mort cellulaire caspase-dĂ©pendante en activant des rĂ©cepteurs de mort diffĂ©rents. De plus, aprĂšs interaction avec les glycoconjuguĂ©s membranaires, elles sont rapidement endocytĂ©es, ce qui peut, Ă des concentrations non toxiques, en faire des vecteurs intĂ©ressants pour faciliter la pĂ©nĂ©tration intracellulaire de mĂ©dicaments. Dans un second temps, un conjuguĂ© covalent de la lectine Morniga G et de la porphyrine [5-(4-(5-carboxy-1-butoxy)-phĂ©nyl)-10,15,20-tris(4-N-mĂ©thyl)-pyridiniumyl)] (TrMPyP) a Ă©tĂ© prĂ©parĂ© et caractĂ©risĂ©. La phototoxicitĂ© du conjuguĂ© TrMPyP-MorG a Ă©tĂ© Ă©valuĂ©e contre la lignĂ©e leucĂ©mique lymphoĂŻde Jurkat exprimant fortement l'antigĂšne Tn. Le conjuguĂ© (1) est internalisĂ© rapidement (5 min) par les cellules Jurkat, (2) augmente trĂšs fortement l'activitĂ© phototoxique de TrMPyP (DL50 de TrMPyP-MorG = 5 nM ; DL50 de TrMPyP = 15 ”M), par l'intermĂ©diaire d'un processus dĂ©pendant de la O-glycosylation, (3) induit une mort cellulaire majoritairement caspase indĂ©pendante, (4) est capable d'Ă©liminer spĂ©cifiquement les cellules leucĂ©miques T Jurkat (Tn-positives) mĂ©langĂ©es Ă des lymphocytes T sains (Tn-nĂ©gatifs), en prĂ©servant le potentiel fonctionnel des lymphocytes sains. De façon intĂ©ressante, aprĂšs irradiation, le conjuguĂ© TrMPyP-MorG est capable d'entraĂźner un effet phototoxique sur diffĂ©rentes lignĂ©es cellulaires leucĂ©miques d'origine myĂ©loĂŻde ou lymphoĂŻde et sur des cellules tumorales fraĂźches provenant de patients atteints de leucĂ©mies lymphoĂŻdes aigues ou chroniques. Enfin, des photosensibilisants (activables dans le rouge) plus adaptĂ©s au traitement PDT de tumeurs solides ont Ă©tĂ© greffĂ©s sur la lectine MorG. Leur phototoxicitĂ© a Ă©tĂ© Ă©tudiĂ©e in vitro sur le modĂšle de cellules leucĂ©miques Jurkat. Les prĂ©sentes observations dĂ©montrent la capacitĂ© des lectines vĂ©gĂ©tales Ă cibler des altĂ©rations de la glycosylation Ă la surface de cellules tumorales et Ă augmenter l'activitĂ© phototoxiques des photosensibilisants dans le cadre de la photochimiothĂ©rapie, et en particulier de la photochimiothĂ©rapie extracorporelle des leucĂ©mies.Photochemotherapy is used both for solid tumors and in extracorporeal treatment of various hematologic disorders, such as Sezary lymphoma. Nevertheless, its development in oncology remains limited, because of the low selectivity of photosensitizers. To enhance photosensitizer selectivity towards human tumor cells, a plant lectin was used as a carrier to target tumor O-glycosylation alterations. Beside monoclonal antibodies or targeting peptides, plant lectins might be a complementary approach. Some lectins have the capability to specifically interact with tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs). Morevover, some of them induce immunomodulatory and anticancer effects. Anticancer effects can be resume to indirect effects (such as anticancer immune activation) or direct effects (such cytotoxicity on tumor cells). Two Jacalin-Related Lectins (JRL) extracted from Morus nigra seem to be interesting for biomedical applications. Morniga G (MorG) is a galactose-specific lectin, and Morniga M (MorM) is mannose-specific. Although, MorM could interact with N-linked glycans, MorG could interact with O-linked glycans. Thus, MorG seems to be highly specific for TACAs T (CD176; Gal1-3GalNAc1-O-Ser/Thr) and Tn (CD175; GalNAc1-O-Ser/Thr). These differential monosaccharidic-binding properties could induce different biological effects. First, we have investigated biological effects of the two JRLs on healthy and leukemic lymphocytes. MorG and MorM induce immunomodulatory effects on healthy lymphocytes and cytotoxic effects at higher doses on Jurkat leukemic cells. MorM could interact with N-linked death receptors, such as Fas, and MorG could bind to O-linked death receptors, such as TRAIL-R. So, these lectins might induce caspase-dependent apoptotic process by activating different death receptors-mediated signaling. Thus, after membrane interaction, these lectins are rapidly endocytosed by cells, which at low doses, make them interesting targeting molecules to improve medicines efficacy. On the other hand, a white-light activatable porphyrin, [5-(4-(5-carboxy-1-butoxy)-phenyl)-10,15,20-tris(4N-methyl)-pyridiniumyl)-porphyrin] (TrMPyP), was covalently linked to MorG. The conjugate was molecularly and biologically characterized. Its cytotoxicity was evaluated after photochemotherapy, using human lymphoid leukemia cells as a tumor cell model. Using Tn-positive (Jurkat lymphoid leukemia) cells, the conjugate (with a 1:1 photosensitizer:lectin ratio) (i) was quickly (5 min) taken-up; (ii) dramatically increased cytotoxicity upon irradiation (LD50 = 5 nM) as compared to free photosensitizer (LD50 = 15 ”M), through an O-glycan-dependent process; (iii) induced caspase-independent cell death; (iv) specifically purged tumor cells from a 1:1 mixture of Jurkat leukemia (Tn-positive) and healthy (Tn-negative) lymphocytes, preserving the activation potential of healthy lymphocytes. Finally, the effectiveness of the conjugate-mediated killing on various leukemic cell lines as well as human primary acute and chronic lymphoid leukemia cells correlates with the ability of the lectin to bind the cell surface antigens. Lastly, different PS that are more adapted to solid tumors PDT treatment, i.e. activatable in the red wavelengths, were covalently linked to MorG. Their phototoxic activities were tested in vitro against Jurkat cell line. These conjugates were able to kill Jurkat cells when irradiated by red light. The present observations demonstrate the potential of plant lectins to target glycan alterations on tumor cells and their ability to improve PS endocytosis and effectiveness in the field of extracorporeal photochemotherapy of leukemias
Cancer targeting with biomolecules: a comparative study of photodynamic therapy efficacy using antibody or lectin conjugated phthalocyanine-PEG gold nanoparticles
The functionalisation of therapeutic nanoparticle constructs with cancer-specific biomolecules can enable selective tumour accumulation and targeted treatment. Water soluble gold nanoparticles (ca. 4 nm) stabilised by a mixed monolayer of a hydrophobic zinc phthalocyanine photosensitiser (C11Pc) and hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG) have been prepared. The C11Pc-PEG gold nanoparticle constructs were further functionalised with jacalin, a lectin specific for the cancer-associated ThomsenâFriedenreich (T) carbohydrate antigen, or with monoclonal antibodies specific for the human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2). The two biofunctionalised nanoparticle conjugates produced similar levels of singlet oxygen upon irradiation at 633 nm. Importantly, both nanoparticle conjugates demonstrated extensive, yet comparable, phototoxicity in HT-29 colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (80â90%) and in SK-BR-3 breast adenocarcinoma cells (>99%). Non-conjugated C11Pc-PEG gold nanoparticles were only minimally phototoxic. Lysosomal colocalisation studies performed with the HT-29 colon cancer cells and the SK-BR-3 breast cancer cells revealed that both nanoparticle conjugates were partially localised within acidic organelles, which is typical of receptor-mediated endocytosis. The similarity of the targeted PDT efficacy of the two biofunctionalised C11Pc-PEG gold nanoparticles is discussed with respect to targeting ligand binding affinity and cell surface antigen density as key determinants of targeting efficiency. This study highlights how targeting small cell-surface molecules, such as the T antigen, can mediate a selective photodynamic treatment response which is similar to that achieved when targeting overexpressed protein receptors, such as HER-2. The high prevalence of the T antigen present on the cellular surface of primary tumours emphasises the broad potential applications for lectin-targeted therapies
Electron-Shading Characterization in a HDP Contact Etching Process Using a Patterned CHARM Wafer
In this work, a CHARM-2 wafer with high aspect ratio resist patterns has been used to quantitatively I. Introduction To understand the origin of plasma-induced damage, useful plasma parameters such as floating potentials and J-V characteristics can be measured using the non-invasive CHARM method To study this effect, we have designed different resist patterns on a 200 mm CHARMâą-2 wafer with an e-beam lithography. This allows to obtain realistic variable aspect ratio as high as 4, contrary to previous studie
Le personnel soignant et l'hygiÚne des mains en réanimation : une analyse sociologique
Introduction/objectif du travail :
Depuis quelques annĂ©es, lâintĂ©rĂȘt de lâanalyse du comportement du personnel hospitalier vis-Ă -vis de rĂšgles dâhygiĂšne des mains (HM) a Ă©tĂ© beaucoup Ă©tudiĂ©, ce qui a permis de mieux comprendre lâĂ©chec ou le caractĂšre transitoire du succĂšs de nombreux programmes dâamĂ©lioration de son observance. Cependant, peu dâĂ©tudes de ce type ont Ă©tĂ© rĂ©alisĂ©es en France. Notre objectif Ă©tait dâĂ©tudier les aspects sociologiques des pratiques dâHM en rĂ©animation.
Matériel et Méthodes :
LâĂ©tude a Ă©tĂ© rĂ©alisĂ©e par l\u27Institut de Psychologie et de Sociologie AppliquĂ©es de l\u27UniversitĂ© Catholique de l\u27Ouest (UCO, Angers), en collaboration avec l\u27Ă©quipe opĂ©rationnelle d\u27hygiĂšne et deux services de rĂ©animation du CHU d\u27Angers. Elle a comportĂ© une phase d\u27observation participante menĂ©e par une Ă©tudiante en sociologie (Master-1), infirmiĂšre (IDE) de formation initiale, et une phase d\u27entretiens semi directifs rĂ©alisĂ©s par deux enseignants chercheurs de l\u27UCO.
RĂ©sultats :
Une constatation importante a été l\u27existence d\u27un conflit pour les soignants entre la rÚgle ontextualisée telle qu\u27elle est pratiquée avec l\u27influence
des antériorités du service, de la socialisation par les pairs (périodes de doublage) ou des situations d\u27urgence d\u27une part, et la rÚgle institutionnalisée (recommandations) telle qu\u27elle est définie par les experts et transmise par les IDE hygiénistes. Les professionnels de l\u27hygiÚne et les soignants ont souvent une conception différente des soins : les premiers les décomposent en séquences de plusieurs tùches avec un acte d\u27HM à pratiquer entre chacune d\u27elles, alors que les seconds perçoivent un soin comme un tout, et effacent mentalement certaines interruptions pour assurer l\u27enchaßnement des tùches. Il est apparu que d\u27aprÚs les entretiens, l\u27"asepsie" était la rÚgle absolue pour les IDE, constituant un "plus" par rapport à l\u27"hygiÚne". Ainsi, une pratique comme l\u27HM ne serait "que" de l\u27hygiÚne par rapport à d\u27autres pratiques
considérées comme garantes de l\u27"asepsie", ce qui pourrait constituer un facteur de mauvaise observance de l\u27HM. Enfin, il a été observé le fréquent ressenti d\u27un risque plus important de contamination du patient vers le soignant que du soignant vers un autre patient, ce qui génÚre des comportements auto protecteurs.
Conclusion :
Il paraĂźt important que dans leurs relations avec les soignants, les professionnels de l\u27hygiĂšne hospitaliĂšre aient conscience que le non suivi des rĂšgles d\u27hygiĂšne ne doit pas ĂȘtre interprĂ©tĂ© comme un dysfonctionnement ou un acte non rationnel, mais qu\u27il correspond Ă l\u27application d\u27autres logiques d\u27action Ă caractĂšre prioritaire pour les soignants
Comparative characterization of phenolic and other polar compounds in Spanish melon cultivars by using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry
Melon (Cucumis melo L.), belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family, is a significant source of phytochemicals which provide human health benefits. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry quadropole-time of flight (HPLC-ESIQTOF-MS) was used for the comprehensive characterization of 14 extracts from 3 Spanish varieties of melon (Galia, Cantaloupe, and Piel de Sapo). A total of 56 different compounds were tentatively identified, including: amino acids and derivatives, nucleosides, organic acids,
phenolic acids and derivatives, esters, flavonoids, lignans, and other polar compounds. Of these, 25 were tentatively characterized for the first time in C. melo varieties. Principalcomponent analysis (PCA) was applied to gain an overview of the distribution of the melon varieties and to clearly separate the different varieties. The result of the PCA for the negative mode was evaluated. The variables most decisive to discriminate among varieties included 12 of the metabolites tentatively identified.CIDAF (Centro de InvestigaciĂłn y desarrollo del Alimento Funcional), Departamento de quĂmica analĂtica. Grupo FQM-297
Targeting of T/Tn Antigens with a Plant Lectin to Kill Human Leukemia Cells by Photochemotherapy
Photochemotherapy is used both for solid tumors and in extracorporeal treatment of various hematologic disorders. Nevertheless, its development in oncology remains limited, because of the low selectivity of photosensitizers (PS) towards human tumor cells. To enhance PS efficiency, we recently covalently linked a porphyrin (TrMPyP) to a plant lectin (Morniga G), known to recognize with high affinity tumor-associated T and Tn antigens. The conjugation allowed a quick uptake of PS by Tn-positive Jurkat leukemia cells and efficient PS-induced phototoxicity. The present study was performed: (i) to evaluate the targeting potential of the conjugate towards tumor and normal cells and its phototoxicity on various leukemia cells, (ii) to investigate the mechanism of conjugate-mediated cell death. The conjugate: (i) strongly increased (Ă1000) the PS phototoxicity towards leukemic Jurkat T cells through an O-glycan-dependent process; (ii) specifically purged tumor cells from a 1â¶1 mixture of Jurkat leukemia (Tn-positive) and healthy (Tn-negative) lymphocytes, preserving the activation potential of healthy lymphocytes; (iii) was effective against various leukemic cell lines with distinct phenotypes, as well as fresh human primary acute and chronic lymphoid leukemia cells; (iv) induced mostly a caspase-independent cell death, which might be an advantage as tumor cells often resist caspase-dependent cell death. Altogether, the present observations suggest that conjugation with plant lectins can allow targeting of photosensitizers towards aberrant glycosylation of tumor cells, e.g. to purge leukemia cells from blood and to preserve the normal leukocytes in extracorporeal photochemotherapy
Effect on comfort of administering bubble-humidified or dry oxygen: the Oxyrea non-inferiority randomized study.
The clinical interest of using bubble humidification of oxygen remains controversial. This study was designed to further explore whether delivering dry oxygen instead of bubble-moistened oxygen had an impact on discomfort of ICU patients.
This randomized multicenter non-inferiority open trial included patients admitted in intensive care unit and receiving oxygen. Any patient receiving non-humidified oxygen (between 0 and 15Â L/min) for less than 2Â h could participate in the study. Randomization was stratified based on the flow rate at inclusion (less or more than 4 L/min). Discomfort was assessed 6-8 and 24Â h after inclusion using a dedicated 15-item scale (quoted from 0 to 150).
Three hundred and fifty-four ICU patients receiving non-humidified oxygen were randomized either in the humidified (HO) (nâ=â172), using bubble humidifiers, or in the non-humidified (NHO) (nâ=â182) arms. In modified intention-to-treat analysis at H6-H8, the 15-item score was 26.6â±â19.4 and 29.8â±â23.4 in the HO and NHO groups, respectively. The absolute difference between scores in both groups was 3.2 [90% CI 0.0; + 6.5] for a non-inferiority margin of 5.3, meaning that the non-inferiority analysis was not conclusive. This was also true for the subgroups of patients receiving either less or more than 4 L/min of oxygen. At H24, using NHO was not inferior compared to HO in the general population and in the subgroup of patients receiving 4 L/min or less of oxygen. However, for patients receiving more than 4 L/min, a post hoc superiority analysis suggested that patients receiving dry oxygen were less comfortable.
Oxygen therapy-related discomfort was low. Dry oxygen could not be demonstrated as non-inferior compared to bubble-moistened oxygen after 6-8Â h of oxygen administration. At 24Â h, dry oxygen was non-inferior compared to bubble-humidified oxygen for flows below 4Â L/min
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