Non-Dipping Blood Pressure Profile in Narcolepsy with Cataplexy

BACKGROUND: Patients with narcolepsy-cataplexy (NC) mostly exhibit undetectable hypocretin levels. Hypocretin system is one of the key players in the complex interaction between sleep and the cardiovascular system. We tested the hypothesis that hypocretin deficiency affects cardiovascular risk factors by measuring nighttime and daytime ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and the night-to-day BP ratio as well as endothelial dysfunction by the digital pulse amplitude response in drug-free patients with NC compared to controls. METHODOLOGY: Sleep, clinical and biological cardiovascular risk factors, fingertip peripheral arterial tonometry, and 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring were recorded in 50 drug-free patients with NC and 42 healthy control subjects, except for BP monitoring available in all controls but in 36 patients with NC. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: More patients than controls were smokers, obese and with dyslipidemia. One-third of patients with NC were "non-dippers" (defined as <10% drop in BP during sleep) compared to only 3% of controls. The diastolic non-dipper BP profile had up to 12-fold higher odds of being associated with NC. We noted negative correlations between mean diastolic BP fall during night, REM sleep percentage and number of sleep onset REM periods, and a positive correlation with mean sleep latency on the MSLT. The digital pulse amplitude response measured by fingertip was similar between NC and controls. CONCLUSION: We found a high percentage of non-dippers in patients with NC with association with REM sleep dysregulation. The blunted sleep-related BP dip in NC may be of clinical relevance, as it may indicate increased risk for cardiovascular events

Melarsoprol cyclodextrin inclusion complexes as promising oral candidates for the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), or sleeping sickness, results from infection with the protozoan parasites &lt;i&gt;Trypanosoma brucei&lt;/i&gt; (&lt;i&gt;T.b.&lt;/i&gt;) &lt;i&gt;gambiense&lt;/i&gt; or &lt;i&gt;T.b.rhodesiense&lt;/i&gt; and is invariably fatal if untreated. There are 60 million people at risk from the disease throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The infection progresses from the haemolymphatic stage where parasites invade the blood, lymphatics and peripheral organs, to the late encephalitic stage where they enter the central nervous system (CNS) to cause serious neurological disease. The trivalent arsenical drug melarsoprol (Arsobal) is the only currently available treatment for CNS-stage &lt;i&gt;T.b.rhodesiense&lt;/i&gt; infection. However, it must be administered intravenously due to the presence of propylene glycol solvent and is associated with numerous adverse reactions. A severe post-treatment reactive encephalopathy occurs in about 10% of treated patients, half of whom die. Thus melarsoprol kills 5% of all patients receiving it. Cyclodextrins have been used to improve the solubility and reduce the toxicity of a wide variety of drugs. We therefore investigated two melarsoprol cyclodextrin inclusion complexes; melarsoprol hydroxypropyl-&#846;-cyclodextrin and melarsoprol randomly-methylated-&#946;-cyclodextrin. We found that these compounds retain trypanocidal properties &lt;i&gt;in vitro&lt;/i&gt; and cure CNS-stage murine infections when delivered orally, once per day for 7-days, at a dosage of 0.05 mmol/kg. No overt signs of toxicity were detected. Parasite load within the brain was rapidly reduced following treatment onset and magnetic resonance imaging showed restoration of normal blood-brain barrier integrity on completion of chemotherapy. These findings strongly suggest that complexed melarsoprol could be employed as an oral treatment for CNS-stage HAT, delivering considerable improvements over current parenteral chemotherapy

Nucleons or diquarks? Competition between clustering and color superconductivity in quark matter

We study the instabilities of quark matter in the framework of a generalized Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model, in order to explore possible competition between three-quark clustering to form nucleons and diquark formation leading to color superconductivity. Nucleon and $\Delta$ solutions are obtained for the relativistic Faddeev equation at finite density and their binding energies are compared with those for the scalar and axial-vector diquarks found from the Bethe-Salpeter equation. In a model with interactions in both scalar and axial diquark channels, bound nucleons exist up to nuclear matter density. However, except at densities below about a quarter of that of nuclear matter, we find that scalar diquark formation is energetically favored. This raises the question of whether a realistic phase diagram of baryonic matter can be obtained from any model which does not incorporate color confinement.Comment: 23 pages (RevTeX), 5 figures (epsf

Biogeography of key mesozooplankton species in the North Atlantic and egg production of Calanus finmarchicus

-Here we present a new, pan-North-Atlantic compilation of data on key mesozooplankton species, including the most important copepod, Calanus finmarchicus. Distributional data of eight representative zooplankton taxa, from recent (2000–2009) Continuous Plankton Recorder data, are presented, along with basin-scale data of the phytoplankton colour index. Then we present a compilation of data on C. finmarchicus, including observations of abundance, demography, egg production and female size, with accompanying data on temperature and chlorophyll

Mortalités massives de l’Huître creuse. Synthèse - Rapport final des études menées sur les mortalités de naissains d’huîtres creuses C. gigas sur le littoral charentais pour la période de 2007 à 2012

Since 2008, the French oyster-farming sector has been confronted with exceptionally high rates of mortality affecting spats (less than one year old) of the Pacific oyster, C. gigas, of between 60 and 90% at all rearing sites and in Pertuis Charentais sea. The objective of this document is to provide an overview of the research and studies carried out by Ifremer in Poitou-Charentes since the emergence of this phenomenon. The actions presented were funded by IFREMER, and CPER Poitou-Charentes 2007-2013.Depuis 2008, l’ostréiculture française est confrontée à une surmortalité exceptionnelle des naissains (environ un an) d’huîtres creuses (C. gigas). Les taux de mortalité atteignent 60 à 90% sur tous les sites des Pertuis Charentais. L’objectif de ce rapport est de présenter les études et recherches conduites sur ce thème par l’Ifremer, depuis l’émergence du phénomène. Les actions ont été financées par IFREMER et le CPER Poitou-Charentes 2007-2013

Multiplicity fluctuations and correlations in 5.02 TeV p+Pb collisions at zero impact parameter

We present a Bayesian method to reconstruct event-by-event multiplicity fluctuations and rapidity correlations in p+Pb collisions at zero impact parameter from minimum-bias data, without assuming any model of the collision dynamics. We test it on Monte Carlo simulations with the Angantyr model, then apply it to ATLAS data on the distribution of charged multiplicity and transverse energy in p+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV. Fluctuations in $b=0$ collisions are quantum fluctuations which originate mostly from the proton wave function, and therefore have the potential to constrain the subnucleonic structure of the proton. The Angantyr model is found to overestimate fluctuations. In addition, we find that as the rapidity increases (towards the Pb-going side), not only the multiplicity density increases, but also its relative event-by-event fluctuation. This counter-intuitive phenomenon is also observed in simulations with Angantyr, and with the QCD dipole model, where its origin can be traced back to the branching process through which gluons are produced

Health in local planning policy in Grenoble, France. From the margins to the mainstream

International audienceThis paper will focus on the place of health in local planning policy in Grenoble over the past twenty years. It draws on some of the findings of the LIFE project, supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR-15-IDEX-02). People with Multimorbid Chronic Diseases (MCDs) account for over 50% of adults aged 50 or older, and for 80% of health costs. MCD clusters evolve over time, defining temporal disease trajectories, often leading to cancer. The dynamics of MCD trajectories include individual factors such as sleep disturbances, dietary exposure to toxic agents or hypoxia. However, a number of factors are driven by wider contexts, in particular the built environment. With a population of 160.000 inhabitants (450 000 with its conurbation), Grenoble is located in Y-shaped valley in the heart of the French Alps and is referred to as the “bowl” (cuvette). The surrounding mountain ranges have acted as natural greenbelts and the city has consequently sprawled down the three valleys, generating commuting, congestion and pollution. As part of the LIFE project, special attention is being paid to the status of health in local policy-making in Grenoble, at the municipal and city-regional scales. The Grenoble experience is of particular interest since it is currently the only large city in France to be led by a green party Mayor, Eric Piolle, elected in 2014 as a result of his campaign that essentially focused on two main issues: mobility, in particular cycling, and pollution.This paper relies on critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 1992 ; 2003). The local health plan produced by the previous council in 2011 is compared to the updated version adopted by the current council in 2016. Successive local plans are also compared and contrasted, so are the rationales underpinning flagship regeneration projects. The research is also based on interviews with key stakeholders involved in place-making, some of whom have played major roles over the past fifteen years despite the change of municipality.It is of course too early to assess the extent to which current actions will have a positive influence on the population’s health on the long term. However, research shows a clear shift in discourse since the 2014 election. Whilst policies and plans designed and implemented by previous councils did take health into account, they tended to focus on energy efficiency. Today however, health per se appears to have become one of the explicit cornerstones of local planning policy

Système BMP, nouvel acteur de la différenciation gonadique?

National audienc

Multiplicity fluctuations and correlations in 5.02 TeV p+Pb collisions at zero impact parameter

We present a Bayesian method to reconstruct event-by-event multiplicity fluctuations and rapidity correlations in p+Pb collisions at zero impact parameter from minimum-bias data, without assuming any model of the collision dynamics. We test it on Monte Carlo simulations with the Angantyr model, then apply it to ATLAS data on the distribution of charged multiplicity and transverse energy in p+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV. Fluctuations in $b=0$ collisions are quantum fluctuations which originate mostly from the proton wave function, and therefore have the potential to constrain the subnucleonic structure of the proton. The Angantyr model is found to overestimate fluctuations. In addition, we find that as the rapidity increases (towards the Pb-going side), not only the multiplicity density increases, but also its relative event-by-event fluctuation. This counter-intuitive phenomenon is also observed in simulations with Angantyr, and with the QCD dipole model, where its origin can be traced back to the branching process through which gluons are produced