Probing mechanical interaction of immune receptors and cytoskeleton by membrane nanotube extraction.

The role of force application in immune cell recognition is now well established, the force being transmitted between the actin cytoskeleton to the anchoring ligands through receptors such as integrins. In this chain, the mechanics of the cytoskeleton to receptor link, though clearly crucial, remains poorly understood. To probe this link, we combine mechanical extraction of membrane tubes from T cells using optical tweezers, and fitting of the resulting force curves with a viscoelastic model taking into account the cell and relevant molecules.

[Management of severe malaria in children in developing countries. A protocol for economic evaluation].

This prospective one-year study was conducted as a preliminary phase to setting up a protocol for economic appraisal of management of severe malaria at Albert Royer Children's Hospital in Dakar, Senegal. Data was routinely collected using a standardized checklist. The four key indicators chosen for this study were nurse workload, adequacy of care (number of patients receiving adequate care), direct cost, and mortality rate.