Tailoring Anisotropic Interactions between Soft Nanospheres Using Dense Arrays of Smectic Liquid Crystal Edge Dislocations.

We investigated composite films of gold nanoparticles (NPs)/liquid crystal (LC) defects as a model system to understand the key parameters, which allow for an accurate control of NP anisotropic self-assemblies using soft templates. We combined spectrophotometry, Raman spectroscopy, and grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering with calculations of dipole coupling models and soft sphere interactions. We demonstrate that dense arrays of elementary edge dislocations can strongly localize small NPs along the defect cores, resulting in formation of parallel chains of NPs.

Treatment with non-selective beta blockers is associated with reduced severity of systemic inflammation and improved survival of patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure.

Background & Aims: Non-selective beta blockers (NSBBs) have been shown to have deleterious outcomes in patients with refractory ascites, alcoholic hepatitis and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis leading many physicians to stop the drug in these cases. Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is characterized by systemic inflammation and high mortality. As NSBBs may have beneficial effects on gut motility and permeability and, systemic inflammation, the aims of this prospective, observational study were to determine whether ongoing use of NSBBs reduced 28-day mortality in ACLF patients.

Pyogenic Sacroiliitis in a 13-Month-Old Child: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Pyogenic sacroiliitis is exceptional in very young children. Diagnosis is difficult because clinical examination is misleading. FABER test is rarely helpful in very young children.

HSFs, Stress Sensors and Sculptors of Transcription Compartments and Epigenetic Landscapes.

Starting as a paradigm for stress responses, the study of the transcription factor (TF) family of heat shock factors (HSFs) has quickly and widely expanded these last decades, thanks to their fascinating and significant involvement in a variety of pathophysiological processes, including development, reproduction, neurodegeneration and carcinogenesis. HSFs, originally defined as classical TFs, strikingly appeared to play a central and often pioneering role in reshaping the epigenetic landscape. In this review, we describe how HSFs are able to sense the epigenetic environment, and we review recent data that support their role as sculptors of the chromatin landscape through their complex interplay with chromatin remodelers, histone-modifying enzymes and non-coding RNAs.

Acute kidney injury in acute on chronic liver failure.

Acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a distinct clinical entity; however, there is still debate in the way it is defined in the East as compared to the West, especially with respect to incorporation of kidney dysfunction or failure in the definition of ACLF. Kidney dysfunction is defined as serum creatinine between 1.5 and 1.

An In Vitro Investigation of Platelet-Rich Plasma-Gel as a Cell and Growth Factor Delivery Vehicle for Tissue Engineering.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been used for different applications in human and veterinary medicine. Many studies have shown promising therapeutic effects of PRP; however, there are still many controversies regarding its composition, properties, and clinical efficacy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different platelet concentrations on the rheological properties and growth factor (GF) release profile of PRP-gels.

A new test and graphical tool to assess the goodness of fit of logistic regression models.

A prognostic model is well calibrated when it accurately predicts event rates. This is first determined by testing for goodness of fit with the development dataset. All existing tests and graphic tools designed for the purpose suffer several drawbacks, related mainly to the subgrouping of observations or to heavy dependence on arbitrary parameters.

Muscular Dystrophy Mutations Impair the Nuclear Envelope Emerin Self-assembly Properties.

More than 100 genetic mutations causing X-linked Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy have been identified in the gene encoding the integral inner nuclear membrane protein emerin. Most mutations are nonsense or frameshift mutations that lead to the absence of emerin in cells. Only very few cases are due to missense or short in-frame deletions.

Charge transfer and electronic doping in nitrogen-doped graphene.

Understanding the modification of the graphene's electronic structure upon doping is crucial for enlarging its potential applications. We present a study of nitrogen-doped graphene samples on SiC(000) combining angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The comparison between tunneling and angle-resolved photoelectron spectra reveals the spatial inhomogeneity of the Dirac energy shift and that a phonon correction has to be applied to the tunneling measurements.

Corner-Space Renormalization Method for Driven-Dissipative Two-Dimensional Correlated Systems.

We present a theoretical method to study driven-dissipative correlated quantum systems on lattices with two spatial dimensions (2D). The steady-state density matrix of the lattice is obtained by solving the master equation in a corner of the Hilbert space. The states spanning the corner space are determined through an iterative procedure, using eigenvectors of the density matrix of smaller lattice systems, merging in real space two lattices at each iteration and selecting M pairs of states by maximizing their joint probability.

In Vivo Evaluation of Cervical Stiffness Evolution during Induced Ripening Using Shear Wave Elastography, Histology and 2 Photon Excitation Microscopy: Insight from an Animal Model.

Prematurity affects 11% of the births and is the main cause of infant mortality. On the opposite case, the failure of induction of parturition in the case of delayed spontaneous birth is associated with fetal suffering. Both conditions are associated with precocious and/or delayed cervical ripening.

Toward the modeling of mucus draining from human lung: role of airways deformation on air-mucus interaction.

Chest physiotherapy is an empirical technique used to help secretions to get out of the lung whenever stagnation occurs. Although commonly used, little is known about the inner mechanisms of chest physiotherapy and controversies about its use are coming out regularly. Thus, a scientific validation of chest physiotherapy is needed to evaluate its effects on secretions.

Sleep-disordered breathing in chronic heart failure: development and validation of a clinical screening score.

Aims: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is highly prevalent and of adverse prognostic significance in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Polygraphy is used for diagnosing SDB but polygraphy resources fall short of needs. Here, our aim was to develop a score for SDB screening in patients with CHF.

Une question de terrain : signification de la persistance de l'ADN du parvovirus B19.

The discovery of the human parvovirus B19 was done by Yvonne Cossart in 1975. In addition to fifth disease and aplastic crisis numerous clinical manifestations have been associated with B19 infections. Routine virological diagnosis is made by the detection of specific IgM and sometimes by the detection of viral DNA.

Quantum Critical Elasticity.

We discuss elastic instabilities of the atomic crystal lattice at zero temperature. Because of long-range shear forces of the solid, at such transitions the phonon velocities vanish, if at all, only along certain crystallographic directions, and, consequently, the critical phonon fluctuations are suppressed to a lower dimensional manifold and governed by a Gaussian fixed point. In the case of symmetry-breaking elastic transitions, a characteristic critical phonon thermodynamics arises that is found, e.

Tuning the Magnetic Anisotropy at a Molecule-Metal Interface.

We demonstrate that a C(60) overlayer enhances the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of a Co thin film, inducing an inverse spin reorientation transition from in plane to out of plane. The driving force is the (60)/Co interfacial magnetic anisotropy that we have measured quantitatively in situ as a function of the (60) coverage. Comparison with state-of-the-art ab initio calculations show that this interfacial anisotropy mainly arises from the local hybridization between (60) p(z) and Co d(z(2)) orbitals.

Instability of the Superfluid Flow as Black-Hole Lasing Effect.

We show that the critical velocity of a superfluid flow through a penetrable barrier coincides with the onset of the analog black-hole lasing effect. This dynamical instability is triggered by modes resonating in an effective cavity formed by two horizons enclosing the barrier. The location of the horizons is set by v(x)=c(x), with v(x),c(x) being the local fluid velocity and sound speed, respectively.

High homocysteine induces betaine depletion.

Betaine is the substrate of the liver- and kidney-specific betaine-homocysteine (Hcy) methyltransferase (BHMT), an alternate pathway for Hcy remethylation. We hypothesized that BHMT is a major pathway for homocysteine removal in cases of hyperhomocysteinaemia (HHcy). Therefore, we measured betaine in plasma and tissues from patients and animal models of HHcy of genetic and acquired cause.

Triglyceride sensing in the reward circuitry: A new insight in feeding behaviour regulation.

In both developed and emerging countries, sedentary life style and over exposition to high energy dense foods has led to a thermodynamic imbalance and consequently obesity. Obesity often involves a behavioural component in which, similar to drugs abuse, compulsive consumption of palatable food rich in lipids and sugar drives energy intake far beyond metabolic demands. The hypothalamus is one of the primary integration sites of circulating energy-related signals like leptin or ghrelin and is therefore considered as one of the main central regulators of energy balance.

Role of Infections in Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure.

Patients with cirrhosis are prone to developing bacterial infections. Moreover, bacterial infection is the most common identifiable trigger of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), which is characterized by organ failures and a high risk of death. There is evidence of an excessive immune response of the host as a major mechanism leading to the development of organ failures in patients with cirrhosis.