Emergent defect states as a source of resistivity anisotropy in the nematic phase of iron pnictides.

We consider the role of potential scatterers in the nematic phase of Fe-based superconductors above the transition temperature to the (π, 0) magnetic state but below the orthorhombic structural transition. The anisotropic spin fluctuations in this region can be frozen by disorder, to create elongated magnetic droplets whose anisotropy grows as the magnetic transition is approached. Such states act as strong anisotropic defect potentials that scatter with much higher probability perpendicular to their length than parallel, although the actual crystal symmetry breaking is tiny.

History of a prolific family: the Hes/Hey-related genes of the annelid Platynereis.

Background: The Hes superfamily or Hes/Hey-related genes encompass a variety of metazoan-specific bHLH genes, with somewhat fuzzy phylogenetic relationships. Hes superfamily members are involved in a variety of major developmental mechanisms in metazoans, notably in neurogenesis and segmentation processes, in which they often act as direct effector genes of the Notch signaling pathway.

Results: We have investigated the molecular and functional evolution of the Hes superfamily in metazoans using the lophotrochozoan Platynereis dumerilii as model.

Self-replicating cracks: a collaborative fracture mode in thin films.

Straight cracks are observed in thin coatings under residual tensile stress, resulting into the classical network pattern observed in china crockery, old paintings, or dry mud. Here, we present a novel fracture mechanism where delamination and propagation occur simultaneously, leading to the spontaneous self-replication of an initial template. Surprisingly, this mechanism is active below the standard critical tensile load for channel cracks and selects a robust interaction length scale on the order of 30 times the film thickness.

Raman-scattering measurements and theory of the energy-momentum spectrum for underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCuO(8+δ) superconductors: evidence of an s-wave structure for the pseudogap.

We reveal the full energy-momentum structure of the pseudogap of underdoped high-Tc cuprate superconductors. Our combined theoretical and experimental analysis explains the spectral-weight suppression observed in the B2g Raman response at finite energies in terms of a pseudogap appearing in the single-electron excitation spectra above the Fermi level in the nodal direction of momentum space. This result suggests an s-wave pseudogap (which never closes in the energy-momentum space), distinct from the d-wave superconducting gap.

Mobility edge for cold atoms in laser speckle potentials.

Using the transfer-matrix method, we numerically compute the precise position of the mobility edge of atoms exposed to a laser speckle potential and study its dependence versus the disorder strength and correlation function. Our results deviate significantly from previous theoretical estimates using an approximate, self-consistent approach of localization. In particular, we find that the position of the mobility edge in blue-detuned speckles is much lower than in the red-detuned counterpart, pointing out the crucial role played by the asymmetric on-site distribution of speckle patterns.

Interplay of packing and flip-flop in local bilayer deformation. How phosphatidylglycerol could rescue mitochondrial function in a cardiolipin-deficient yeast mutant.

In a previous work, we have shown that a spatially localized transmembrane pH gradient, produced by acid micro-injection near the external side of cardiolipin-containing giant unilamellar vesicles, leads to the formation of tubules that retract after the dissipation of this gradient. These tubules have morphologies similar to mitochondrial cristae. The tubulation effect is attributable to direct phospholipid packing modification in the outer leaflet, that is promoted by protonation of cardiolipin headgroups.

Longer incubation times for yeast fungemia: importance for presumptive treatment.

Isolation rates of Candida glabrata at ≤2 days were 8.9% and 34.8% at >2 days; for Cryptococcus neoformans, they were 0.

Noncoding transcription by alternative RNA polymerases dynamically regulates an auxin-driven chromatin loop.

The eukaryotic epigenome is shaped by the genome topology in three-dimensional space. Dynamic reversible variations in this epigenome structure directly influence the transcriptional responses to developmental cues. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis long intergenic noncoding RNA (lincRNA) APOLO is transcribed by RNA polymerases II and V in response to auxin, a phytohormone controlling numerous facets of plant development.

Controlling discrete and continuous symmetries in "superradiant" phase transitions with circuit QED systems.

We explore theoretically the physics of a collection of two-level systems coupled to a single-mode bosonic field in the nonstandard configuration where each (artificial) atom is coupled to both field quadratures of the boson mode. We show that such an unusual coupling scheme can be implemented in circuit QED systems, where artificial Josephson atoms are coupled both capacitively and inductively to a superconducting resonator. We demonstrate that it is possible to pass from a discrete, paritylike Z(2) symmetry to a continuous U(1) with the appearance of photonic Goldstone and amplitude modes above a critical point even in the ultrastrong coupling regime (where the rotating wave approximation for the interaction between field and two-level systems is no longer applicable).

Lo/Ld phase coexistence modulation induced by GM1.

Lipid rafts are assumed to undergo biologically important size-modulations from nanorafts to microrafts. Due to the complexity of cellular membranes, model systems become important tools, especially for the investigation of the factors affecting "raft-like" Lo domain size and the search for Lo nanodomains as precursors in Lo microdomain formation. Because lipid compositional change is the primary mechanism by which a cell can alter membrane phase behavior, we studied the effect of the ganglioside GM1 concentration on the Lo/Ld lateral phase separation in PC/SM/Chol/GM1 bilayers.

Association between prenatal exposure to antiretroviral therapy and birth defects: an analysis of the French perinatal cohort study (ANRS CO1/CO11).

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has major benefits during pregnancy, both for maternal health and to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Safety issues, including teratogenic risk, need to be evaluated. We estimated the prevalence of birth defects in children born to HIV-infected women receiving ART during pregnancy, and assessed the independent association of birth defects with each antiretroviral (ARV) drug used.

Usefulness of bone density measurement in fallers.

The objective of this systematic literature review is to discuss the latest French recommendation issued in 2012 that a fall within the past year should lead to bone mineral density (BMD) measurement using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). This recommendation rests on four facts. First, osteoporosis and fall risk are the two leading risk factors for nonvertebral fractures in postmenopausal women.

Permutation tests for centre effect on survival endpoints with application in an acute myeloid leukaemia multicentre study.

When analysing multicentre data, it may be of interest to test whether the distribution of the endpoint varies among centres. In a mixed-effect model, testing for such a centre effect consists in testing to zero a random centre effect variance component. It has been shown that the usual asymptotic χ(2) distribution of the likelihood ratio and score statistics under the null does not necessarily hold.

Structural hippocampal anomalies in a schizophrenia population correlate with navigation performance on a wayfinding task.

Episodic memory, related to the hippocampus, has been found to be impaired in schizophrenia. Further, hippocampal anomalies have also been observed in schizophrenia. This study investigated whether average hippocampal gray matter (GM) would differentiate performance on a hippocampus-dependent memory task in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls.

New combinational assay using soluble fibrin and d-dimer determinations: a promising strategy for identifying patients with suspected venous thromboembolism.

Aim: To establish a new and reliable assay for quantification of the soluble fibrin (SF) in combination with that of D-dimer for early diagnosis of venous thromboembolism.

Methods And Samples: The SF assay is based on D-dimer generated after incubation of plasma with tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA). SF and standard D-dimer assays, run in blind, were used to test 119 untreated outpatients with clinically suspected deep-vein thrombosis (DVT, 49 patients) or pulmonary embolism (PE, 70 patients) consulting at the emergency unit of the hospital.

In vivo evidence that secretion of HLA-G by immunogenic tumor cells allows their evasion from immunosurveillance.

Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) expression by tumors has been evidenced in numerous malignancies in association with poor prognosis and resistance to immunotherapy in humans. Particularly, soluble form of HLA-G was measured at high concentrations in malignant effusions and plasma from cancer patients, and inhibits antitumor immune cells in vitro through interaction with immunoglobulin-like transcript (ILT) receptors. Nevertheless, in vivo study demonstrating that HLA-G secretion by tumor cells allows their escape from immunosurveillance remained to be established.

STAG3 is a strong candidate gene for male infertility.

Oligo- and azoospermia are severe forms of male infertility. However, known genetic factors account only for a small fraction of the cases. Recently, whole-exome sequencing in a large consanguineous family with inherited premature ovarian failure (POF) identified a homozygous frameshift mutation in the STAG3 gene leading to a premature stop codon.

Acute-on-chronic liver failure: a new clinical entity.

Patients hospitalized for an acute complication of cirrhosis who also have organ failure(s) are at high risk of short-term death. The term acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is used to characterize these patients. Until recently, there was no evidence-based definition of ACLF.

Performance of the BODE index in patients with α1-antitrypsin deficiency-related COPD.

The BODE (body mass index, airflow obstruction, dyspnoea and exercise capacity) index is used to decide on referral and transplantation of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The BODE index has not been validated in patients with α1-antitrypsin deficiency, who account for 15% of COPD patients undergoing lung transplantation. We sought to validate the BODE index in α1-antitrypsin deficiency-related COPD.