Spatial modelling of landscape aesthetic potential in urban-rural fringes.

The aesthetic potential of landscape has to be modelled to provide tools for land-use planning. This involves identifying landscape attributes and revealing individuals' landscape preferences. Landscape aesthetic judgments of individuals (n = 1420) were studied by means of a photo-based survey.

Preference for Sucrose Solutions Modulates Taste Cortical Activity in Humans.

High time resolution is required to reliably measure neuronal activity in the gustatory cortex in response to taste stimuli. Hedonic aspects of gustatory processing have never been explored using gustatory evoked potentials (GEPs), a high-time-resolution technique. Our aim was to study cerebral processing of hedonic taste in humans using GEPs in response to sucrose solutions in subjects with different ratings of pleasantness regarding sucrose.

[Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJSTEN) related to insecticide: Second case in the literature and potential implications].

Introduction: Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJSTEN) is a rare acute drug reaction characterized by the brutal destruction of the superficial layer of the skin and mucosa. SJSTEN is favoured by some drugs (90 % of cases) and genetic factors. It occurs at any age in both sexes.

Nonlinear Memory Capacity of Parallel Time-Delay Reservoir Computers in the Processing of Multidimensional Signals.

This letter addresses the reservoir design problem in the context of delay-based reservoir computers for multidimensional input signals, parallel architectures, and real-time multitasking. First, an approximating reservoir model is presented in those frameworks that provides an explicit functional link between the reservoir architecture and its performance in the execution of a specific task. Second, the inference properties of the ridge regression estimator in the multivariate context are used to assess the impact of finite sample training on the decrease of the reservoir capacity.

Epidemiology of Endometriosis in France: A Large, Nation-Wide Study Based on Hospital Discharge Data.

We aimed to assess the prevalence of hospitalization for endometriosis in the general population in France and in each French region and to describe temporal trends, rehospitalization rates, and prevalence of the different types of endometriosis. The analyses were carried out on French hospital discharge data and covered the period 2008-2012 and a population of 14,239,197 women of childbearing age. In this population, the prevalence of hospitalization for endometriosis was 0.

Direct subphthalocyanine conjugation to bombesin vs. indirect conjugation to its lipidic nanocarrier.

Bombesin (BBN) was covalently bound to graftable subphthalocyanine (SubPc) or to a cholesterol derivative, a component of a liposome that encapsulates non-graftable SubPc. The latter bioconjugation approach was suitable to address the stability of SubPc and was achieved by copper-free click-chemistry on the outer-face of the liposome. Liposomes were purified (FPLC) and then analyzed in size (outer diameter about 60 nm measured by DLS).

Pretransplant thymic function predicts acute rejection in antithymocyte globulin-treated renal transplant recipients.

Lack of clear identification of patients at high risk of acute rejection hampers the ability to individualize immunosuppressive therapy. Here we studied whether thymic function may predict acute rejection in antithymocyte globulin (ATG)-treated renal transplant recipients in 482 patients prospectively studied during the first year post-transplant of which 86 patients experienced acute rejection. Only CD45RA(+)CD31(+)CD4(+) T cell (recent thymic emigrant [RTE]) frequency (RTE%) was marginally associated with acute rejection in the whole population.

Tracking pan-continental trends in environmental contamination using sentinel raptors-what types of samples should we use?

Biomonitoring using birds of prey as sentinel species has been mooted as a way to evaluate the success of European Union directives that are designed to protect people and the environment across Europe from industrial contaminants and pesticides. No such pan-European evaluation currently exists. Coordination of such large scale monitoring would require harmonisation across multiple countries of the types of samples collected and analysed-matrices vary in the ease with which they can be collected and the information they provide.

Evidence of hormesis on human neuronal SK-N-BE cells treated with sodium arsenate: impact at the mitochondrial level.

Exposure of human neuronal SK-N-BE cells to sodium arsenate (AsV 0.1-400 μM; 48 h) induced a biphasic toxic effect evoking hormesis. Indeed, at low concentrations, AsV stimulates cell proliferation visualized by phase contrast microscopy, whereas at high concentrations, an induction of cell death associated with a loss of cell adhesion was observed.

Relationship between depression and health-related quality of life in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting: a MOTIV-CABG substudy.

Context/objectives: Depression is associated with higher risk of death and major adverse cardiac events among patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). This study aimed to investigate the impact of preoperative depression on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) changes over the first 12 postoperative months.

Methods: Patients were the participants in the MOTIV-CABG study that was a single-center, non-stratified, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, phase 4 trial, conducted between January 2006 and February 2012 at University Hospital, Besançon, France.

GipA Factor Supports Colonization of Peyer's Patches by Crohn's Disease-associated Escherichia Coli.

Background: Adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) associated with Crohn's disease target M cells lining Peyer's patches (PPs) through the expression of long polar fimbriae (LPF) and survive macrophage killing. Invasion of PPs constitutes a way to colonize the mucosa for bacteria able to escape or resist killing of underlying immune cells. We aimed to identify new virulence factors involved in PPs colonization by AIEC.

The distinctive vertical heterophoria of dyslexics.

In this study, we looked for the presence of vertical heterophoria (VH) in 42 dyslexic children (22 males and 20 females) aged 118.5±12.9 months who were compared with a control group of 22 nondyslexic children (eleven males and eleven females) aged 112±9.

Construction of quality of life change patterns: example in oncology in a phase III therapeutic trial (FFCD 0307).

Objective: Quality of life data in cancerology are often difficult to summarize due to missing data and difficulty to analyze the pattern of evolution in different groups of patients. The aim of this work was to apply a new methodology to construct Quality of Life (QoL) change patterns within patients included in a clinical trial comparing to regimen of treatment in locally advanced eosogastric cancer.

Materials And Methods: In this trial, QoL was assessed every 2 months by self-reported EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire.

Numerical analysis of the V-Y shaped advancement flap.

The V-Y advancement flap is a usual technique for the closure of skin defects. A triangular flap is incised adjacent to a skin defect of rectangular shape. As the flap is advanced to close the initial defect, two smaller defects in the shape of a parallelogram are formed with respect to a reflection symmetry.

Association between arthritis score at the onset of the disease and long-term locomotor outcome in adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats.

Introduction: To investigate the connection between the intensity of initial symptoms of inflammation and locomotor outcome in rheumatoid arthritis, we examined the relationship between long-term locomotor abnormalities and signs of inflammation at the onset of the disease in adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) in rats.

Methods: The arthritis score and hind-paw diameter were followed from immunization to day 195 (~7 months). At this time, locomotion was recorded during forced treadmill walking using 3D motion technology before radiographic scoring of hind limb joint damage.

Significant abnormalities of the HDL phosphosphingolipidome in type 1 diabetes despite normal HDL cholesterol concentration.

Objective: Phospholipids and sphingolipids are major components of HDL. They play a critical role in HDL functionality and protective effects against atherosclerosis. As HDL are dysfunctional in type 1 diabetic patients, we ascertained whether they presented abnormalities in their phospholipid and sphingolipid profile, despite normal HDL cholesterol concentration.

Quantitative lipopolysaccharide analysis using HPLC/MS/MS and its combination with the limulus amebocyte lysate assay.

Quantitation of plasma lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) might be used to document Gram-negative bacterial infection. In the present work, LPS-derived 3-hydroxymyristate was extracted from plasma samples with an organic solvent, separated by reversed phase HPLC, and quantitated by MS/MS. This mass assay was combined with the limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) bioassay to monitor neutralization of LPS activity in biological samples.