First Results of the EDELWEISS WIMP Search using a 320 g Heat-and-Ionization Ge Detector

The EDELWEISS collaboration has performed a direct search for WIMP dark matter using a 320 g heat-and-ionization cryogenic Ge detector operated in a low-background environment in the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane. No nuclear recoils are observed in the fiducial volume in the 30-200 keV energy range during an effective exposure of 4.53 kg.days. Limits for the cross-section for the spin-independent interaction of WIMPs and nucleons are set in the framework of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The central value of the signal reported by the experiment DAMA is excluded at 90% CL.Comment: 14 pages, Latex, 4 figures. Submitted to Phys. Lett.

Improved Exclusion Limits from the EDELWEISS WIMP Search

The EDELWEISS experiment has improved its sensitivity for the direct search for WIMP dark matter. In the recoil energy range relevant for WIMP masses below 10 TeV/c2, no nuclear recoils were observed in the fiducial volume of a heat-and-ionization cryogenic Ge detector operated in the low-background environment of the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane in the Frejus Tunnel, during an effective exposure of 7.4 kg.days. This result is combined with the previous EDELWEISS data to derive a limit on the cross-section for spin-independent interaction of WIMPs and nucleons as a function of WIMP mass, using standard nuclear physics and astrophysical assumptions. This limit excludes at more than 99.8%CL a WIMP candidate with a mass of 44 GeV/c2 and a cross-section of 5.4 x 10-6 pb, as reported by the DAMA collaboration. A first sample of supersymmetric models are also excluded at 90%CL.Comment: 14 pages, Latex, 5 figures. Submitted to Phys. Lett.

Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map

We summarise the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and national space and research funding agencies.publishedVersio

Tissue-specific effect of a low level of long-chain diatary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on insulin signaling in rats without or with dexamethasone-induced insulin resistance.

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Surgical therapy in a patient with Keratosis-Ichthyosis-Deafness (KID) syndrome associated with follicular occlusion triad.

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Proteolysis of shrimp by-products (Penaeus monodon) from Madagascar

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Comparative analysis of nasal and oral mucosa dendritic cells.

Contains fulltext : 50576.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND: Mucosal dendritic cells (DC) play a crucial role in tolerance induction as seen in mucosal immunotherapy of atopic diseases. Nevertheless little is known about the phenotypical differences of oral and nasal mucosal DC (nmDC). Recently, we could show that oral mucosal myeloid CD1a(+) DC (omDC) differ from their skin counterparts especially by the expression of high affinity receptor for immunoglobulin E (IgE; FcepsilonRI). However, expression pattern of FcepsilonRI and phenotypical characteristics of CD1a(+) nmDC have not been elucidated in detailed yet. METHODS: We performed detailed phenotypical comparison of nmDC and omDC of atopic and nonatopic individuals. RESULTS: As reported for omDC, FcepsilonRI on nmDC of atopic donors was elevated and mostly occupied by IgE while FcepsilonRI was present only in low amounts on nmDC of nonatopic donors. Nevertheless, the highest FcepsilonRI expression has been observed on omDC. Furthermore, significant amounts of costimulatory molecules CD40, CD80 and CD86 could be detected on nmDC that expressed more CD80 compared with omDC. Moreover, nmDC displayed less major histocompatability complex (MHC) class I and II molecules than omDC. In addition, nmDC expressed more C-type lectins CD205, CD206 as well as myeloid marker CD11b while omDC displayed increased expression of CD207 and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) receptor CD14. CONCLUSION: Together these data imply that nmDC phenotypical differ from omDC which might result in diverse functional properties and might be of relevance for selecting routes for immunotherapy of atopic diseases. Moreover these data provide a basis for further studies investigating immunological mechanisms underlying mucosal immunotherapy

Antiproliferative activity of fish protein hydrolysates on human breast cancer cell lines

International audienceAntiproliferative activity of 18 fish protein hydrolysates was measured on 2 human breast cancer cell lines grown in vitro. Three blue whiting, three cod, three plaice and one salmon hydrolysates were identified as significant growth inhibitors on the two cancer cell lines. Preliminary analysis of hydrolysates composition evidenced they contained a complex mixture of free amino acids, peptides with various sizes ranging up to 7 kDa and in a lower proportion, lipids and sodium chloride. RP-HPLC fractionation of fish hydrolysates is currently undertaken to purify anticancer peptides, lipids or other bioactive trace compounds responsible for this antiproliferative activity