Estudo dos Consumos Energéticos de Empresas Consumidoras Intensivas de Energia

De forma a promover a eficiência energética e implementar a utilização racional de energia, foram criadas estratégias e legislação que incentivam a diminuição dos consumos de energia numa instalação. Para esse efeito é necessário uma gestão de energia ou seja conhecer os fluxos de energia existentes dessa instalação. As auditorias energéticas permitem realizar um levantamento e análise dos fluxos energéticos, com o objetivo de identificar oportunidades de racionalização de consumo de energia. Neste trabalho foi realizado um estudo dos consumos energéticos em três indústrias consumidoras intensivas de energia. Através dos dados cedidos pelas empresas foi possível obter um resultado do exame energético, caracterizar os consumos de cada instalação ao longos dos anos do plano em vigor, verificar as medidas de eficiência energética propostas no plano e quais as implementadas, bem como a consequência da não implementação, apresentando no final os desvios dos indicadores energéticos em todos os anos do plano de cada instalação.In order to promote energy efficiency and implement the rational use of energy, they were created strategies and legislation that encourage the reduction of energy consumption in a installation. For this purpose it’s necessary a power management, that means know the existing energy flows in installation. Energy audits allow make a study and analysis of the energetic flows with the purpose of identifying opportunities for energy consumption. In this work was realized a study of energy consumption in three intensive consumer energy industries. Through the data transferred by the companies it was possible to obtain a result of the energy examination, characterize the consumption of each installation over the years with the plan in vigor, check the proposed energy efficiency measures in the plan and which implemented, as well as the consequence of not implementation, showing at the end the difference of energy indicators in each year of each installation plan

Fibrosarcoma of the nasal cavity: A case report

Nasal fibrosarcoma is an infrequent malignant neoplasm. It usually presents as other sarcomas in this region, with nasal obstruction and epistaxis. The final diagnosis is based on the histopathology and immunohistochemistry. We report the case of a 37-year-old man with a 3-month history of recurrent epistaxis and nasal obstruction. Nasal endoscopy confirmed a right nasal neoplasia. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance image showed the tumor. TEP scan showed no metastasis. Complete removal was achieved through a combined surgery, by endoscopic endonasal approach and by incision in the right upper oral vestibule. Fibrosarcoma was found on histopathologic and immunohistochemistric examinations. After 12 months, the postoperative course was uneventful and follow-up information showed no recurrence of metastasis. However, in the 13th month, the patient suddenly died at home. Autopsy found no obvious cause for his death. To the best of our knowledge, no case of a fibrosarcoma of the nasal cavity with sudden death has been previously reported in the English-language

Diagnosis with confidence: deep learning for reliable classification of laryngeal dysplasia

International audienceBackground Diagnosis of head and neck (HN) squamous dysplasias and carcinomas is critical for patient care, cure, and follow‐up. It can be challenging, especially for grading intraepithelial lesions. Despite recent simplification in the last WHO grading system, the inter‐ and intraobserver variability remains substantial, particularly for nonspecialized pathologists, exhibiting the need for new tools to support pathologists. Methods In this study we investigated the potential of deep learning to assist the pathologist with automatic and reliable classification of HN lesions following the 2022 WHO classification system. We created, for the first time, a large‐scale database of histological samples (>2000 slides) intended for developing an automatic diagnostic tool. We developed and trained a weakly supervised model performing classification from whole‐slide images (WSI). We evaluated our model on both internal and external test sets and we defined and validated a new confidence score to assess the predictions that can be used to identify difficult cases. Results Our model demonstrated high classification accuracy across all lesion types on both internal and external test sets (respectively average area under the curve [AUC]: 0.878 (95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.834–0.918]) and 0.886 (95% CI: [0.813–0.947])) and the confidence score allowed for accurate differentiation between reliable and uncertain predictions. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that the model, associated with confidence measurements, can help in the difficult task of classifying HN squamous lesions by limiting variability and detecting ambiguous cases, taking us one step closer to a wider adoption of AI‐based assistive tools

Bile acid homeostasis controls CAR signaling pathways in mouse testis through FXRalpha.

International audienceBile acids (BAs) are molecules with endocrine activities controlling several physiological functions such as immunity, glucose homeostasis, testicular physiology and male fertility. The role of the nuclear BA receptor FXRalpha in the control of BA homeostasis has been well characterized. The present study shows that testis synthetize BAs. We demonstrate that mice invalidated for the gene encoding FXRalpha have altered BA homeostasis in both liver and testis. In the absence of FXRalpha, BA exposure differently alters hepatic and testicular expression of genes involved in BA synthesis. Interestingly, Fxralpha-/- males fed a diet supplemented with BAs show alterations of testicular physiology and sperm production. This phenotype was correlated with the altered testicular BA homeostasis and the production of intermediate metabolites of BAs which led to the modulation of CAR signaling pathways within the testis. The role of the CAR signaling pathways within testis was validated using specific CAR agonist (TCPOBOP) and inverse agonist (androstanol) that respectively inhibited or reproduced the phenotype observed in Fxralpha-/- males fed BA-diet. These data open interesting perspectives to better define how BA homeostasis contributes to physiological or pathophysiological conditions via the modulation of CAR activity

Bile acid homeostasis controls CAR signaling pathways in mouse testis through FXRalpha

Bile acids (BAs) are molecules with endocrine activities controlling several physiological functions such as immunity, glucose homeostasis, testicular physiology and male fertility. The role of the nuclear BA receptor FXR alpha in the control of BA homeostasis has been well characterized. The present study shows that testis synthetize BAs. We demonstrate that mice invalidated for the gene encoding FXR alpha have altered BA homeostasis in both liver and testis. In the absence of FXR alpha, BA exposure differently alters hepatic and testicular expression of genes involved in BA synthesis. Interestingly, Fxr alpha-/- males fed a diet supplemented with BAs show alterations of testicular physiology and sperm production. This phenotype was correlated with the altered testicular BA homeostasis and the production of intermediate metabolites of BAs which led to the modulation of CAR signaling pathways within the testis. The role of the CAR signaling pathways within testis was validated using specific CAR agonist (TCPOBOP) and inverse agonist (androstanol) that respectively inhibited or reproduced the phenotype observed in Fxr alpha-/- males fed BA-diet. These data open interesting perspectives to better define how BA homeostasis contributes to physiological or pathophysiological conditions via the modulation of CAR activit

Bile Acid Alters Male Mouse Fertility in Metabolic Syndrome Context

<div><p>Bile acids have recently been demonstrated as molecules with endocrine activities controlling several physiological functions such as immunity and glucose homeostases. They act mainly through two receptors, the nuclear receptor Farnesol-X-Receptor alpha (FXRα) and the G-protein coupled receptor (TGR5). These recent studies have led to the idea that molecules derived from bile acids (BAs) and targeting their receptors must be good targets for treatment of metabolic diseases such as obesity or diabetes. Thus it might be important to decipher the potential long term impact of such treatment on different physiological functions. Indeed, BAs have recently been demonstrated to alter male fertility. Here we demonstrate that in mice with overweight induced by high fat diet, BA exposure leads to increased rate of male infertility. This is associated with the altered germ cell proliferation, default of testicular endocrine function and abnormalities in cell-cell interaction within the seminiferous epithelium. Even if the identification of the exact molecular mechanisms will need more studies, the present results suggest that both FXRα and TGR5 might be involved. We believed that this work is of particular interest regarding the potential consequences on future approaches for the treatment of metabolic diseases.</p></div

CA-supplementation reverse HFD induced overweight.

<p><b>(A)</b> Weight gain of C57BL/6J mice along the experiments. After 90 days of high fat diet (HFD) (red arrow), half of the mice on the HFD (triangles) were switched to HFD supplemented with CA (HF-CA) (squares) (n = 12–35 per group). Black arrows indicated the timing of fertility test. <b>(B)</b> Relative body weight 4 months after the switch to HF-CA diet. <b>(C)</b> Relative liver weight normalized to body weight in C57Bl/6 mice fed HFD and HF-CA diet 4 months after the switch to HF-CA diet. (n = 18–25 per group). <b>(D)</b> Plasma bile acid levels and pool composition in mice under HFD or HF-CA diet 4 months after the switch to HF-CA diet. (<b>D)</b> Plasma cholesterol, cholesterol ester, triglycerides and glucose levels in mice fed to HFD or HF-CA diets 4 months after the switch to HF-CA diet. (n = 19–25 per group). Data represent mean ± SEM; Statistical analyses: * p<0,05; ** p<0,01 and *** p<0,001.</p

Potential intratesticular action of BAs.

<p>In normal condition production of testosterone is involved in germ cell survival. The expression of genes involved in steroidogenic pathway is in part supported by transcriptional activity of LRH–1 and SF1. In parallel, the integrity of the seminiferous epithelium is ensured by the establishment of cell-cell interactions involving protein such as Cx43. In the context of BA exposure, lower production of testosterone is observed. This is consistent with the potential activation of the FXRαwhich in turn leads to activation of SHP a known repressor of steroidogenic pathways via the inhibition of transcriptional activity of LRH–1 and SF–1 on promoter sequences of genes such as Star or Cyp11a1. In parallel, in BA context, the integrity of blood testis barrier is altered. This is consistent with the activation of the TGR5-Tbx2 signaling pathways leading to lower accumulation of protein involved in cell-cell interactions that destabilized the structure of the seminiferous epithelium. These alterations might participate to the increase rate of germ cell apoptosis within the testis. In regards to the major role of testicular physiology, even though post-testicular impact cannot be exclude; the present work suggests that this alterations of testicular physiology induced in a HF-diet context might participate to the appearance of male infertility.</p

CA-supplementation alters testicular endocrine function.

<p><b>(A)</b> Testicular testosterone levels in mice fed HFD and HF-CA diet 4 months after the switch to HF-CA diet. (n = 7–13 per group). (<b>B)</b> Plasma testosterone levels in mice fed HFD and HF-CA diet 4 months after the switch to HF-CA diet. (n = 7–13 per group).<b>(C)</b> Testicular mRNA accumulation of <i>Star</i>, <i>Cyp11a1</i>, <i>3βHDS</i> and <i>Cyp17a1</i> normalized to <i>β-actin</i> mRNA levels in the whole testes of mice fed HFD and HF-CA diet 4 months after the switch to HF-CA diet (n = 12–22 per group). <b>(D)</b> Testicular mRNA expression of <i>Tubb3</i>, <i>Atp1a2</i> and <i>Pem</i> normalized to <i>βactin</i> m in the whole testes of mice fed HFD and HF-CA diet 4 months after the switch to HF-CA diet (n = 7–22 per group). <b>(E)</b> Testicular mRNA expression of <i>Sf–1</i>, <i>Lrh–1</i>, <i>Shp</i>, <i>Fxrα</i> and <i>Ar</i> normalized to <i>β-actin</i> m in the whole testes of mice fed HFD and HF-CA diet 4 months after the switch to HF-CA diet (n = 7–22 per group). <b>(F)</b> Immunoblot of AR and ACTIN on testicular protein extracts of HFD or HF-CA diet 4 months after the switch to HF-CA diet (n = 5–8 per groups). Quantification of AR/ACTIN ratio. HF-diet group was arbitrarily fixed at 100%.HF-diet group was arbitrarily fixed at 100%. <b>(G)</b>. Testicular mRNA expression of <i>Shp</i>, <i>Bsep</i>, <i>Fxrα</i>, <i>Cyp11a1</i>, <i>Lrh–1</i>, Sf–1 and normalize to β-actin levels in whole testis of C57BL/6 mice fed HFD or HF-CA diet 2 months after the switch to HF-CA diet (n = 16–22 per groups. Data represent mean ± SEM; Statistical analyses: * p<0,05; ** p<0,01 and *** p<0,005.</p

CA-supplementation diet induces increase of germ cell proliferation.

<p><b>(A)</b> Apoptosis in mice exposed to HFD or HF-CA diets 4 months after the switch to HF-CA diet (n = 13 to 25 per group) analyzed by TUNEL staining. The arrow indicates apoptotic spermatocytes. The original magnification was X200. The number of TUNEL-positive cells per 100 seminiferous tubes. <b>(B)</b> Proliferation in mice exposed to HFD or HF-CA diets (n = per groups) analyzed by Ki–67 staining. Representative micrographs of the testis exposed to HF and HF-CA diets. The original magnification was X100.Quantification of the number of Ki-67-positive cells per 100 seminiferous tubules after 2 and 4 months of HF and HF-CA diets (n = 4–5 per groups). <b>(C)</b> Immunoblot of PCNA and ACTIN on testicular protein extracts of HFD or HF-CA diet 4 months after the switch to HF-CA diet (n = 5–8 per groups). Quantification of PCNA/ACTIN ratio. HFD group was arbitrarily fixed at 100%. <b>(D)</b> Testicular mRNA expression of <i>G9a</i>, <i>Cyclina1 (Ccna1)</i>, <i>Smad6</i> and <i>Prm1</i> normalize to β-actin levels in whole testis of C57BL/6 mice fed HFD or HF-CA diets 4 months after the switch to HF-CA diet (n = 16–22 per groups).). <b>(E)</b> Immunoblot of EZH2 and ACTIN on testicular protein extracts of HF diets or HF-CA diets 4 months after the switch to HF-CA diet (n = 5–8 per groups). Quantification of EZH2/ACTIN ratio. HFD group was arbitrarily fixed at 100%. <b>(F)</b> Evaluation of post-meiotic elongated spermatids in mice exposed to HFD or HF-CA diets analyzed by acetylated histone H4 (H4ac) staining 4 months after the switch to HF-CA (Representative micrographs of the testis exposed to HF diet). The original magnification was X100.Quantification of the number of H4ac-positive cells (n = 4–5 per groups). Data represent mean ± SEM; Statistical analyses: * p<0,05; ** p<0,01 and *** p<0,005.</p