Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Étude sur la réinsertion professionnelle des enseignantes et enseignants à la suite d'un arrêt de travail pour un problème de santé mentale /

Bibliogr.: p. 105-110

Antimalarial Activities of Alkyl Cyclohexenone Derivatives Isolated from the Leaves of Poupartia borbonica

Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the ethyl acetate extract of the leaves of Poupartia borbonica led to the isolation of three new alkyl cyclohexenone derivatives 1−3, and named Poupartone A−C. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data analysis and MS, whereas calculated and experimental ECD spectra were used to define the absolute configurations. These compounds were active against 3D7 and W2 Plasmodium falciparum strains with IC50 values between 0.55 and 1.81 μM. In vitro cytotoxicity against WI38 human fibroblasts and the human cervical cancer cell line HeLa (WST-1 assay) showed that these compounds were also cytotoxic, but no hemolytic activity was observed for the extract and pure compounds. An in vivo antimalarial assay was performed on the major cyclohexenone using P. berghei-infected mice at a dose of 15 mg/kg/day ip. The assay revealed growth inhibition of 59.1 and 69.5% at days 5 and 7 postinfection, respectively, although some toxicity was observed. Zebrafish larvae were used as a model to determine the type of toxicity, and the results showed cardiac toxicity. The methanol extract was also studied, and it displayed moderate antiplasmodial properties in vitro. This extract contained the known flavonoids, quercetin, 3′-O-hydroxysulfonylquercetin, quercitrin, and isoquercitrin as well as ellagic acid, which showed high to low activity against the 3D7 P. falciparum strain

Réparation de poésie no 11 : Poésie réparée fraîche

The eleventh issue of Quebec collective Réparation de poésie’s annual publication gathers together 82 small objects, created by 57 artists from around the world whose goal is to develop an international Mail Art network. Most of the contributions, which borrow from collage, political art and the Fluxus movement, include text and images that attempt to create links between poetry and the visual arts. Some of the themes broached by the artists include: the environment, media and information technology, the body, travelling, the sacred, art and society, and the origin and future of humanity. Texts in numerous languages (French, English, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, etc.) Introductory text in French

The evolution of mean arterial pressure in critically ill patients on vasopressors before and during a trial comparing a specific mean arterial pressure target to usual care

Abstract Background In randomized clinical controlled trials, the choice of usual care as the comparator may be associated with better clinician uptake of the study protocol and lead to more generalizable results. However, if care processes evolve to resemble the intervention during the course of a trial, differences between the intervention group and usual care control group may narrow. We evaluated the effect on mean arterial pressure of an unblinded trial comparing a lower mean arterial pressure target to reduce vasopressor exposure, vs. a clinician-selected mean arterial pressure target, in critically ill patients at least 65 years old. Methods For this multicenter observational study using data collected both prospectively and retrospectively, patients were recruited from five of the seven trial sites. We compared the mean arterial pressure of patients receiving vasopressors, who met or would have met trial eligibility criteria, from two periods: [1] at least 1 month before the trial started, and [2] during the trial period and randomized to usual care, or not enrolled in the trial. Results We included 200 patients treated before and 229 after trial initiation. There were no differences in age (mean 74.5 vs. 75.2 years; p = 0.28), baseline Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score (median 26 vs. 26; p = 0.47) or history of chronic hypertension (n = 126 [63.0%] vs. n = 153 [66.8%]; p = 0.41). Mean of the mean arterial pressure was similar between the two periods (72.5 vs. 72.4 mmHg; p = 0.76). Conclusions The initiation of a trial of a prescribed lower mean arterial pressure target, compared to a usual clinician-selected target, was not associated with a change in mean arterial pressure, reflecting stability in the net effect of usual clinician practices over time. Comparing prior and concurrent control groups may alleviate concerns regarding drift in usual practices over the course of a trial or permit quantification of any change

Specific expression of novel long non-coding RNAs in high-hyperdiploid childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

<div><p>Pre-B cell childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pre-B cALL) is a heterogeneous disease involving many subtypes typically stratified using a combination of cytogenetic and molecular-based assays. These methods, although widely used, rely on the presence of known chromosomal translocations, which is a limiting factor. There is therefore a need for robust, sensitive, and specific molecular biomarkers unaffected by such limitations that would allow better risk stratification and consequently better clinical outcome. In this study we performed a transcriptome analysis of 56 pre-B cALL patients to identify expression signatures in different subtypes. In both protein-coding and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA), we identified subtype-specific gene signatures distinguishing pre-B cALL subtypes, particularly in t(12;21) and hyperdiploid cases. The genes up-regulated in pre-B cALL subtypes were enriched in bivalent chromatin marks in their promoters. LncRNAs is a new and under-studied class of transcripts. The subtype-specific nature of lncRNAs suggests they may be suitable clinical biomarkers to guide risk stratification and targeted therapies in pre-B cALL patients.</p></div

Overall accuracy of 3-nearest-neighbors classification using an increasing number of top variance genes from different biotypes.

<p>(A) Multidimensional scaling plot of distances between expression profiles only for lncRNAs. The distance between each pair of samples is the Euclidean distance between expression values (logCPM) of the 500 lncRNAs with the most variance across all samples. (B) K-nearest neighbors classification accuracy comparison between lncRNA and protein-coding transcripts. The y-axis corresponds to the fraction of samples correctly classified, averaged over 100 replicates. For each replicate, we sampled 50% of available genes and ordered them according to expression variance across samples. 3-nearest-neighbors classification was then performed using an incremental number of genes and Euclidean distance between samples. The baseline accuracy corresponds to random assignment of tumor subtypes within the cohort.</p

ENCODE TF peak enrichment near TSS of dysregulated genes.

<p>The y-axis corresponds to the minimal TF expression change observed among all subtypes. The x-axis corresponds to the peak enrichment ratio for genes that are up- or down-regulated in all subtypes. All TFs are represented as dots and text labels have been added when both expression change and (positive) peak enrichment are statistically significant (FDR < 0.1).</p

Histone mark distribution with respect to dysregulation status in pre-B cALL.

<p>(A) Relative peak coverage of H3K27me3 repressive mark. (B) Relative peak coverage of H3K4me3 activating mark. (C) Relative peak coverage of the H3K36me3 mark associated to active transcription. (D) Fraction of genes with H3K27me3 or both H3K27me3 and H3K4me3 (bivalency) near their TSS (-5kb to +5kb). Genes with an FDR<0.001 and a log2FC > 2 (or < -2) in all subtypes have been classified as up-regulated (or down-regulated). Genes not differentially expressed (not DE) include all genes with FDR>0.5. Only the most upstream TSS of each gene was considered. Histone peak data was obtained from ENCODE epigenome E031 [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0174124#pone.0174124.ref055" target="_blank">55</a>].</p

Expression distribution for core and accessory PRC2 subunits in our pre-B cALL cohort.

<p>Gene expression box plots for (A) core and (B) accessory PCR2 subunits. Thick boxes comprise observations from the first to the third quartiles in each group. Observations farther than 1.5*IQR (inter-quartile range) from these boxes boundaries are represented as dots. Genes identified as dysregulated by the edgeR analysis (FDR<1e-3) are marked with an asterisk and associated FDR values specified underneath.</p