Role of the cooling rate in the stability of the superconducting phase of (TMTSF)_2ClO_4

The noncentrosymmetric ClO$_4$ anions of the organic superconductor (TMTSF)$_2$ClO$_4$ order below 24K. The size of domains where the anions are ordered is substantially dependent on the cooling rate which is a key parameter for the stability of the low temperature electronic ground states. We study the effect of the cooling rate on the SC phase within a self consistent approach in the framework of the time dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory taking into account the superconducting fluctuations. We derive the superconducting transition temperature which is found to decrease with increasing cooling rate in agreement with recent experimental data.Comment: 5 pages including one figure. Published online in Europhysics Letter

Current dependent fluctuations in a Bi2_2Sr2_2CuO6+δ_{6+\delta} thin film

The current dependence of the excess conductivity is measured up to $\simeq 3 T_c$ for a Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CuO$_{6+\delta}$ thin film, as a function of doping. It is found to be anomalously sensitive to the transport current and to behave as a universal function of $T/T_c$ in the whole doping range. We discuss these results in the perspective of a granular superconductor with a gapless-like behavior

Upper critical field from normal state fluctuations in Bi2_2Sr2_2CuO6+δ_{6+\delta}

The in-plane magnetoresistance of an epitaxial Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CuO$_{6+\delta}$ thin film was systematically investigated as a function of doping, above $T_c$. The orbital magnetoconductance is used to extract the crossover field line $H_{c2}^*(T)$ in the fluctuation regime. This field is found in good agreement with the upper critical field obtained from resistivity data below $T_c$, and exhibits a similar upward curvature, thus pointing toward the existence of a critical correlation length. The consequences regarding the nature of the resistive transition are discussed

Identification of a naturally occurring 2, 6-bis (1.1- dimethylethyl)-4-methylphenol from purple leaves of the halophyte plant Mesembryanthemum crystallinum

2, 6-Bis (1.1-dimethylethyl)-4-methylphenol (BHT) is a synthetic antioxidant used generally for food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The leaf extract from the halophyte plant, Mesembryanthemumcrystallinum, was fractionated by using semi-preparative HPLC. The different fractions were tested for their antioxidant activity using DPPH method. One fraction exhibited a high level of antioxidant activity.The molecule responsible for this antioxidant activity was identified as 2, 6-bis (1.1-dimethylethyl)-4-methylphenol) by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS)

Histiocytose langerhansienne multiviscerale avec atteinte auriculaire bilaterale a propos d’une observation

L’histiocytose langerhansienne multi-viscérale est une prolifération clonale des cellules de Langerhans, touchant plusieurs organes. Cette entité se voit surtout chez l’enfant. Dans ce travail, nous rappelons les aspects cliniques avec la fréquence d’atteinte oto-rhino-laryngologique, ainsi que les moyens de diagnostic et le traitement de cette affection rare. Nous présentons le cas d’un enfant âgé de 2 ans qui a été hospitalisé pour une pneumopathie interstitielle, associée à une otorrhée bilatérale. L’examen a montré un comblement des 2 conduits auditifs externes et des lésions cutanées squameuses. La biopsie a conclu à une histiocytose langerhansienne. Malgré la chimiothérapie, l’enfant est décédé après 11 mois.Mots-clés : Histiocytose langerhansienne, atteinte auriculaire

Facteurs Predictifs De Malignite D\'un Nodule Thyroidien

Buts : étudier les facteurs prédictifs de malignité des nodules thyroïdiens et comparer nos résultats à ceux de la littérature. Patients et méthodes : Il s\'agit d\'une étude rétrospective a propos de 282 cas de nodules thyroïdiens opérés à l\' hôpital de Mahdia entre 1988 et 2003. Résultats : L\'âge moyen était de 44 ans. Le risque de malignité des nodules thyroïdiens était de 15,6% . Ce risque était plus important chez les hommes (50%) que chez les femmes (13,3%). Certains facteurs étaient hautement prédictifs de malignité comme l\'âge supérieur à 60 ans, les signes de compression, les adénopathies cervicales et le caractère fixe et dure du nodule thyroidien Conclusion : Certains signes cliniques et para cliniques ont une grande valeur en matière de bénignité ou de malignité des nodules thyroïdiens.Aim : Study the predictive factors of malignancy of thyroid gland nodules and compare our results to those of the literature. Patients and methods : A retrospective study about 282 cases of thyroid gland nodules treated in Madhya hospital between 1988 and 2003. Results : The middle age was 44 years. The risk of malignancy was 15,6 %. This risk was higher in men (50 %) then in women (13,3 %). Some factors were highly predictive of malignancy like age superior then 60 years, neck lymph nodes … Conclusion: Some clinic and para clinic signs have an important value in benignancy or malignancy of thyroid gland nodules. Journal Tunisien d\'ORL et de chirurgie cervico-faciale Vol. 18 2007: pp. 20-2

Chemokine and Chemokine Receptor Gene Polymorphism in Tunisian Hemodialysis Patients with HCV Infection

Introduction: Our aim was to investigate the possibility of a significant relationship between chemokines and chemokine receptor genes polymorphisms and the spontaneous clearance or the persistence of HCV infection. Methods: A total of 96 hemodialysis (HD) patients infected with HCV were classified into two groups: G1 included 73 patients with persistently positive HCV-RNA and G2 included 23 HD patients who have spontaneously eliminated the virus. The control group consisted of 170 healthy blood donors. All subjects were genotyped for CCR5 Δ32, CCR5 (-59029) A/G, CCR2 (64Ile) and MCP-1(-2518) A/G gene polymorphisms. Results: Our results showed statistically significant increased frequencies of the CCR2 (64Ile) and the (-59029) CCR5 A alleles in patients infected with HCV (22.1% and 35.9%) compared to G1 (24.3% and 40.6%) and compared to controls (14.4% and 20%). We also observed a lower frequency of the MCP-1 G allele and a greater frequency of the CCR5Δ32 variant in G2 (15.2% and 6.5%) compared to G1 (22.6% and 1.4%) that was not statistically significant. However, adjustment for known covariates (age, gender and HCV genotypes) didn’t confirm the results of univariate analysis. Conclusion: In conclusion, our study suggests a possible role for some of the studied chemokines polymorphisms in the spontaneous clearance or persistence of HCV infection in Tunisian population. These results should be further investigated by a prospective cohort studies and large population-based studies.Keywords: Chemokines; Receptors; Hepatitis C virus; Spontaneous Clearance; Polymorphisms

Non linear excess conductivity of Bi2_2Sr2_2Can−1_{n-1}Cun_nO2n+4+x_{2n+4+x} (n = 1,2), thin films

The suppression of excess conductivity with electric field is studied for Bi$_2$Sr$_2$Ca$_{n-1}$Cu$_n$O$_{2n+4+x}$ ($n$ = 1, 2) thin films. A pulse-probe technique is used, which allows for an estimate of the sample temperature. The characteristic electric field for fluctuations suppression is found well below the expected value for all samples. For the $n=1$ material, a scaling of the excess conductivity with electric field and temperature is obtained, similar to the scaling under strong magnetic field

Comparative Study of Human and Automated Screening for Antinuclear Antibodies by Immunofluorescence on HEp-2 Cells

Background: Several automated systems had been developed in order to reduce inter-observer variability in indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) interpretation. We aimed to evaluate the performance of a processing system in antinuclear antibodies (ANA) screening on HEp-2 cells. Patients and Methods: This study included 64 ANA-positive sera and 107 ANA-negative sera that underwent IIF on two commercial kits of HEp-2 cells (BioSystems® and Euroimmun®). IIF results were compared with a novel automated interpretation system, the “CyclopusCADImmuno®” (CAD). Results: All ANA-positive sera images were recognized as positive by CAD (sensitivity = 100%), while 17 (15.9%) of the ANA-negative sera images were interpreted as positive (specificity = 84.1%), =0.799 (SD=0.045). Comparison of IIF pattern determination between human and CAD system revealed on HEp-2 (BioSystems®), a complete concordance in 6 (9.37%) sera, a partial concordance (sharing of at least 1 pattern) in 42 (65.6%) cases and in 16 (25%) sera the pattern interpretation was discordant. Similarly, on HEp-2 (Euroimmun®) the concordance in pattern interpretation was total in 5 (7.8%) sera, partial in 39 (60.9%) and absent in 20 (31.25%). For both tested HEp-2 cells kits agreement was enhanced for the most common patterns, homogenous, fine speckled and coarse speckled. While there was an issue in identification of nucleolar, dots and nuclear membranous patterns by CAD. Conclusion: Assessment of ANA by IIF on HEp-2 cells using the automated interpretation system, the “CyclopusCADImmuno®” is a reliable method for positive/negative differentiation. Continuous integration of IIF images would improve the pattern identification by the CAD

Study of the B +→ J / ψ Λ ¯ p decay in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

A study of the B +→ J / ψ Λ ¯ p decay using proton-proton collision data collected at s = 8 TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.6 fb−1, is presented. The ratio of branching fractions B(B+→J/ψΛ¯p)/B(B+→J/ψK∗(892)+) is measured to be (1.054 ± 0.057(stat) ± 0.035(syst) ± 0.011(B))%, where the last uncertainty reflects the uncertainties in the world-average branching fractions of Λ ¯ and K*(892) + decays to reconstructed final states. The invariant mass distributions of the J / ψ Λ ¯ , J/ψp, and Λ ¯ p systems produced in the B +→ J / ψ Λ¯ p decay are investigated and found to be inconsistent with the pure phase space hypothesis. The analysis is extended by using a model-independent angular amplitude analysis, which shows that the observed invariant mass distributions are consistent with the contributions from excited kaons decaying to the Λ ¯ p system. [Figure not available: see fulltext.