Blockchain Technologies: The Foreseeable Impact on Society and Industry

The authors describe blockchain's fundamental concepts, provide perspectives on its challenges and opportunities, and trace its origins from the Bitcoin digital cash system to recent applications

Synthesis and antigiardial activity of formononetin analogues

The synthesis and antigiardial activity of formononetin analogues is hereby reported. Formononetin, an isoflavone commonly obtained from the Leguminoseae family has previously been reported to possess antigiardial activity. In this paper, 10 analogues of formononetin were synthesized and tested for antigiardial activity. One compound was found to be active, 3 were moderately active and 6 were found to be inactive. All the 10 analogues were found to be inactive against other protozoa such as Trichomonas vaginalis and Tritrichomonas foetus.Keywords: Antigiardial, Formononetin, Activit

Morphological evolution of z~1 galaxies from deep K-band AO imaging in the COSMOS deep field

We present the results of an imaging programme of distant galaxies (z~0.8) at high spatial resolution (~0.1").We observed 7 fields of 1'*1' with the NACO Adaptive Optics system (VLT) in Ks (2.16um) band with typical V ~ 14 guide stars and 3h integration time per field. Observed fields are selected within the COSMOS survey area. High angular resolution K-band data have the advantage to probe old stellar populations in the rest-frame, enabling to determine galaxy morphological types unaffected by recent star formation, better linked to the underlying mass than classical optical morphology studies (HST). Adaptive optics on ground based telescopes is the only method today to obtain such high resolution in the K-band. In this paper we show that reliable results can be obtained and establish a first basis for larger observing programmes. We analyze the morphologies by means of B/D (Bulge/Disk) decomposition with GIM2D and CAS (Concentration-Asymmetry) estimators for 79 galaxies with magnitudes between Ks = 17-23 and classify them in three main morphological types (Late Type, Early Type and Irregulars). We obtain for the first time an estimate of the distribution of galaxy types at redshift z ~ 1 as measured from the near infrared at high spatial resolution. We show that galactic parameters (disk scale length, bulge effective radius and bulge fraction) can be estimated with a random error lower than 20% for the bulge fraction up to Ks = 19 (AB = 21) and that classification into the three main morphological types can be done up to Ks = 20 (AB = 22) with at least 70% of correct identifications. We used the known photometric redshifts to obtain a redshift distribution over 2 redshift bins (z < 0.8, 0.8 < z < 1.5) for each morphological type.Comment: 19 pages, 19 figures, 5 tables, Accepted for publication in A&A, typos corrected, referee's suggestions added, figure 3 has been strongly degrade

MASSIV: Mass Assembly Survey with SINFONI in VVDS. VI. Metallicity-related fundamental relations in star-forming galaxies at 1<z<21 < z < 2

The MASSIV (Mass Assembly Survey with SINFONI in VVDS) project aims at finding constraints on the different processes involved in galaxy evolution. This study proposes to improve the understanding of the galaxy mass assembly through chemical evolution using the metallicity as a tracer of the star formation and interaction history. Methods. We analyse the full sample of MASSIV galaxies for which a metallicity estimate has been possible, that is 48 star-forming galaxies at $z\sim 0.9-1.8$, and compute the integrated values of some fundamental parameters, such as the stellar mass, the metallicity and the star formation rate (SFR). The sample of star-forming galaxies at similar redshift from zCOSMOS (P\'erez-Montero et al. 2013) is also combined with the MASSIV sample. We study the cosmic evolution of the mass-metallicty relation (MZR) together with the effect of close environment and galaxy kinematics on this relation. We then focus on the so-called fundamental metallicity relation (FMR) proposed by Mannucci et al. (2010) and other relations between stellar mass, SFR and metallicity as studied by Lara-L\'opez et al. (2010). We investigate if these relations are really fundamental, i.e. if they do not evolve with redshift. Results. The MASSIV galaxies follow the expected mass-metallicity relation for their median redshift. We find however a significant difference between isolated and interacting galaxies as found for local galaxies: interacting galaxies tend to have a lower metallicity. The study of the relation between stellar mass, SFR and metallicity gives such large scattering for our sample, even combined with zCOSMOS, that it is diffcult to confirm or deny the existence of a fundamental relation

Experimental Method to Determine the Energy Envelope Performance of Buildings

In France, buildings represent 40% of the annual energy consumption. This sector represents an important stack to achieve the objective of reducing by 4 the greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Knowledge of construction techniques and the use of equipments are the main keys to realize low energy buildings. To achieve this aim, we monitored 24 experimental buildings. In order to evaluate these experimental buildings we compare the monitored energy performance to the predicted energy performance and explain the differences between both performances. Therefore, we developed an in-situ method to determine the thermal envelope performance of buildings (Ubuilding). The buildings are monitored in order to know the followings inputs: Occupancy rate; Heat supply; Solar supply; Ventilation and airflow losses; Distributions losses. The aim of this paper is to present the developed method and monitoring protocol. In order to validate the proposed experimental approach, we will present applications on different monitoring buildings in context of the project PREBAT (Research Program on Building's Evaluation)

Anti-Trichomonas vaginalis activity of marine-associated fungi from the South Brazilian Coast

AbstractTrichomonas vaginalis is the causative agent of trichomonosis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted disease. Infection with this protozoan may have serious consequences, especially for women. Currently, 5-nitroimidazole drugs are the treatment of choice for trichomonosis, but the emergence of resistance has limited the effectiveness of this therapy. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the anti-T. vaginalis activity of marine-associated fungi found in the South Brazilian Coast. A total of 42 marine-associated fungal species (126 filtrate samples) isolated from 39 different marine organisms, mainly sponges, were selected to be screened against T. vaginalis. Of these, two filtrate samples from Hypocrea lixii F02 and Penicillium citrinum F40 showed significant growth-inhibitory activity (up to 100%) against ATCC 30236 and fresh clinical isolates, including a metronidazole-resistant isolate. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of H. lixii F02 and P. citrinum F40 samples for all isolates tested, including the metronidazole-resistant isolate, were 2.5mg/mL. The kinetic growth curve showed that the filtrate samples were able to reduce the density of parasites to zero within 24h of incubation, which was confirmed by microscopy. Both fungal filtrate samples exhibited no hemolytic activity, and the P. citrinum F40 filtrate sample showed low cytotoxicity against Vero cells. These data suggest that marine-associated fungi from the South Brazilian Coast may produce potential candidates for further investigation and possible use in the treatment of metronidazole-resistant trichomonosis