Autoimmune channelopathies in paraneoplastic neurological syndromes

AbstractParaneoplastic neurological syndromes and autoimmune encephalitides are immune neurological disorders occurring or not in association with a cancer. They are thought to be due to an autoimmune reaction against neuronal antigens ectopically expressed by the underlying tumour or by cross-reaction with an unknown infectious agent. In some instances, paraneoplastic neurological syndromes and autoimmune encephalitides are related to an antibody-induced dysfunction of ion channels, a situation that can be labelled as autoimmune channelopathies. Such functional alterations of ion channels are caused by the specific fixation of an autoantibody upon its target, implying that autoimmune channelopathies are usually highly responsive to immuno-modulatory treatments. Over the recent years, numerous autoantibodies corresponding to various neurological syndromes have been discovered and their mechanisms of action partially deciphered. Autoantibodies in neurological autoimmune channelopathies may target either directly ion channels or proteins associated to ion channels and induce channel dysfunction by various mechanisms generally leading to the reduction of synaptic expression of the considered channel. The discovery of those mechanisms of action has provided insights on the regulation of the synaptic expression of the altered channels as well as the putative roles of some of their functional subdomains. Interestingly, patients’ autoantibodies themselves can be used as specific tools in order to study the functions of ion channels. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Membrane channels and transporters in cancers

Microwave plasma discharges for biomass pretreatment: Degradation of a sodium carboxymethyl cellulose model

Biogas production is an important component of an environmentally benign renewable energy strategy. However, the cost-effectiveness of biogas production from biomass is limited by the presence of polymeric structures, which are recalcitrant to digestion by bacteria. Therefore, pretreatments must often be applied prior to anaerobic fermentation to increase yields of biogas. Many physico-chemical pretreatments have a high energy demand and are generally costly. An alternative could be the ignition of a plasma directly in the biomass substrate. The reactive species that are generated by plasma-liquid interactions, such as hydroxyl radicals and hydrogen peroxides, could contribute significantly to the disintegration of cell walls and the breakage of poorly digestible polymers. With respect to economic, processing, and other potential benefits, a microwave instigated and sustained plasma was investigated. A microwave circuit transmitted 2-kW pulses into a recirculated sodium carboxymethyl cellulose solution, which mimicked the rheological properties of biomass. Each microwave pulse had a duration of 12.5 ms and caused the ignition of a discharge after a vapor bubble had formed. Microwaves were absorbed in the process with an efficiency of ∼97%. Slow-motion imaging showed the development of the discharge. The plasma discharges provoked a decrease in the viscosity, probably caused by the shortening of polymer chains of the cellulose derivative. The decrease in viscosity by itself could reduce processing costs and promotes bacterial activity in actual biomass. The results demonstrate the potential of microwave in-liquid plasma discharges for the pretreatment of biomass. © 2020 Author(s)

DassFlow v1.0: a variational data assimilation software for river flows

Dassflow is a computational software for river hydraulics (floods), especially designed for variational data assimilation. The forward model is based on the bidimensional shallow-water equations, solved by a finite volume method (HLLC approximate Riemann solver). It is written in Fortran 95. The adjoint code is generated by the automatic differentiation tool Tapenade. Thus, Dassflow software includes the forward solver, its adjoint code, the full optimization framework (based on the M1QN3 minimization routine) and benchmarks. The generation of new data assimilation twin experiments is easy. The software is interfaced with few pre and post-processors (mesh generators, GIS tools and visualization tools), which allows to treat real data

Associations between HLA and autoimmune neurological diseases with autoantibodies

Recently, several autoimmune neurological diseases have been defined by the presence of autoantibodies against different antigens of the nervous system. These autoantibodies have been demonstrated to be specific and useful biomarkers, and most of them are also pathogenic. These aspects have increased the value of autoantibodies in neurological practice, as they enable to establish more accurate diagnosis and to better understand the underlying mechanisms of the autoimmune neurological diseases when they are compared to those lacking them. Nevertheless, the exact mechanisms leading to the autoimmune response are still obscure. Genetic predisposition is likely to play a role in autoimmunity, HLA being the most reported genetic factor. Herein, we review the current knowledge about associations between HLA and autoimmune neurological diseases with autoantibodies. We report the main alleles and haplotypes, and discuss the clinical and pathogenic implications of these findings

Variational data assimilation for 2D fluvial hydraulics simulations

International audienceA numerical method for model parameters identification is presented for a river model based on a finite volume discretization of the bidimensional shallow water equations. We use variational data assimilation to combine optimally physical information from the model and observation data of the physical system in order to identify the value of model inputs that correspond to a numerical simulation which is consistent with reality. Two numerical examples demonstrate the efficiency of the method for the identification of the inlet discharge and the bed elevation. An application to real data on the Pearl River for the identification of boundary conditions is presented

Respective implications of glutamate decarboxylase antibodies in stiff person syndrome and cerebellar ataxia

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe