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This recommendation is devoted to testing the resistance of natural stone and fired-clay brick units against salt crystallization. The procedure was developed by the RILEM TC 271-ASC to evaluate the durability of porous building materials against salt crystallization through a laboratory method that allows for accelerated testing without compromising the reliability of the results. The new procedure is designed to replicate salt damage caused by crystallization near the surface of materials as a result of capillary transport and evaporation. A new approach is proposed that considers the presence of two stages in the salt crystallization test. In the first, the accumulation stage, salts gradually accumulate on or near the surface of the material due to evaporation. In the second, the propagation stage, damage initiates and develops due to changes in moisture content and relative humidity that trigger salt dissolution and crystallization cycles. To achieve this, two types of salt were tested, namely sodium chloride and sodium sulphate, with each salt tested separately. A methodology for assessing the salt-induced damage is proposed, which includes visual and photographical observations and measurement of material loss. The procedure has been preliminarily validated in round robin tests.

International audience; Lung transplantation (LTx) is the last-resort treatment for end-stage respiratory insufficiency, whatever its origin, and represents a steadily expanding field of endeavor. Major developments have been impelled over the years by painstaking efforts at LTx centers to improve donor and recipient selection, and multifaceted attempts have been made to meet the challenges raised by surgical management, perioperative care, and long-term medical complications. The number of procedures has increased, leading to improved post-LTx prognosis. One consequence of these multiple developments has been a pruning away of contraindications over time, which has, in some ways, complicated the patient selection process. With these considerations in mind, the Francophone Pulmonology Society (Société de Pneumology de Langue Française [SPLF]) has set up a task force to produce up-to-date working guidelines designed to assist pulmonologists in managing end-stage respiratory insufficiency, determining which patients may be eligible for LTx, and appropriately timing LTx-center referral. The task force has examined the most recent literature and evaluated the risk factors that continue to limit patient survival after LTx. Ideally, the objectives of LTx are to prolong life while improving quality of life. The guidelines developed by the task force apply to a limited resource and are consistent with the ethical principles described below.; La transplantation pulmonaire (TxP) constitue le traitement ultime de l’insuffisance respiratoire terminale quelle qu’en soit l’origine et voit son activité en permanente expansion. Le travail minutieux des centres de TxP portant sur la sélection des donneurs et des receveurs d’un greffon pulmonaire ainsi que de l’ensemble des efforts fournis pour relever les défis de la prise en charge chirurgicale, péri-opératoire et la gestion des complications médicales de la TxP à plus long terme ont permis une augmentation du nombre de procédures et l’amélioration du pronostic post-TxP. Les membres du groupe de travail de la Société de pneumologie de langue française (SPLF) ont réalisé une mise à jour des données connues de la littérature et analysé les facteurs de risque qui limitent les chances de survie après la TxP. L’objectif de ce travail a été de guider les pneumologues dans leur prise en charge de l’insuffisance respiratoire terminale, de les aider à identifier les patients potentiellement éligibles à la TxP et de déterminer selon quels délais les adresser à centre de TxP. Les objectifs de la TxP demeurent l’allongement de la vie et l’amélioration de la qualité de vie des malades. Les propositions faites dans ce document portent sur une ressource limitée et restent guidées par des principes éthiques décrits plus loin.

Several valuable biologically active molecules can be obtained through C–H activation processes. However, the use of expensive and not readily accessible catalysts complicates the process of pharmacological application of these compounds. A plausible way to overcome this issue is developing and using cheaper, more accessible, and equally effective catalysts. First-row transition (3d) metals have shown to be important catalysts in this matter. This review summarizes the use of 3d metal catalysts in C–H activation processes to obtain potentially (or proved) biologically active compounds.

The predominantly pre-synaptic intrinsically disordered protein α-synuclein is prone to misfolding and aggregation in synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Molecular chaperones play important roles in protein misfolding diseases and members of the chaperone machinery are often deposited in Lewy bodies. Here, we show that the Hsp90 co-chaperone STI1 co-immunoprecipitated α-synuclein, and co-deposited with Hsp90 and Hsp70 in insoluble protein fractions in two mouse models of α-synuclein misfolding. STI1 and Hsp90 also co-localized extensively with filamentous S129 phosphorylated α-synuclein in ubiquitin-positive inclusions. In PD human brains, STI1 transcripts were increased, and in neurologically healthy brains, STI1 and α-synuclein transcripts correlated. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analyses revealed direct interaction of α-synuclein with STI1 and indicated that the STI1 TPR2A, but not TPR1 or TPR2B domains, interacted with the C-terminal domain of α-synuclein. In vitro, the STI1 TPR2A domain facilitated S129 phosphorylation by Polo-like kinase 3. Moreover, mice over-expressing STI1 and Hsp90ß presented elevated α-synuclein S129 phosphorylation accompanied by inclusions when injected with α-synuclein pre-formed fibrils. In contrast, reduced STI1 function decreased protein inclusion formation, S129 α-synuclein phosphorylation, while mitigating motor and cognitive deficits as well as mesoscopic brain atrophy in α-synuclein-over-expressing mice. Our findings reveal a vicious cycle in which STI1 facilitates the generation and accumulation of toxic α-synuclein conformers, while α-synuclein-induced proteostatic stress increased insoluble STI1 and Hsp90.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a major public health problem. It is the leading cause of death and disability, especially among children and young adults. The neurobiology basis underlying TBI pathophysiology remains to be fully revealed. Over the past years, emerging evidence has supported the hypothesis that TBI is an inflammatory based condition, paving the way for the development of potential therapeutic targets. There is no treatment capable to prevent or minimize TBIassociated outcomes. Therefore, the search for effective therapies is a priority goal. In this context, animal models have become valuable tools to study molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in TBI pathogenesis as well as novel treatments. Herein, we discuss therapeutic strategies to treat TBI focused on immunomodulatory and/or anti-inflammatory approaches in the pre-clinical setting.

Asymmetrical rates of cladogenesis and extinction abound in the Tree of Life, resulting in numerous minute clades that are dwarfed by larger sister groups. Such taxa are commonly regarded as phylogenetic relicts or “living fossils” when they exhibit an ancient first appearance in the fossil record and prolonged external morphological stasis, particularly in comparison to their more diversified sister groups. Due to their special status, various phylogenetic relicts tend to be well-studied and prioritized for conservation. A notable exception to this trend is found within Amblypygi (“whip spiders”), a visually striking order of functionally hexapodous arachnids that are notable for their antenniform first walking leg pair (the eponymous “whips”). Paleoamblypygi, the putative sister group to the remaining Amblypygi, is known from Late Carboniferous and Eocene deposits, but is survived by a single living species, Paracharon caecus Hansen, 1921, that was last collected in 1899. Due to the absence of genomic sequence-grade tissue for this vital taxon, there is no global molecular phylogeny for Amblypygi to date, nor a fossil-calibrated estimation of divergences within the group. Here, we report several individuals of a previously unknown species of Paleoamblypygi from a cave site in Colombia. Capitalizing upon this discovery, we generated the first molecular phylogeny of Amblypygi, integrating ultraconserved element sequencing with legacy Sanger datasets and including described extant genera. To quantify the impact of sampling Paleoamblypygi on divergence time estimation, we performed in silico experiments with pruning of Paracharon. We demonstrate that the omission of relicts has a significant impact on the accuracy of node dating approaches that outweighs the impact of excluding ingroup fossils. Our results underscore the imperative for biodiversity discovery efforts in elucidating the phylogenetic relationships of “dark taxa”, and especially phylogenetic relicts in tropical and subtropical habitats.

The transient receptor potential vanilloid type-1 (TRPV1) channels have been implicated in the modulation of aversive responses. The endocannabinoid anandamide acts as an endogenous TRPV1 agonist, exerting opposite functions at TRPV1 and type-1 cannabinoid receptors (CB

Objectives:Conduct a literature search for scientific tests concerning treatment combined with well-being in cerebellar ataxias using electronic data sources. Methods:A search was conducted organized by scientific tests worried about the treatment allied to well-being in cerebellar ataxias using the electronic data sources PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cinahl and Pedro, and listings of recommendations of articles, from 1980 to December 2011, including in English and Dutch. Results:Information suggests that physical treatment, when included in occupational treatment, may improve international practical reputation, just as treatment at work alone may decrease signs of anxiety (grade 3). Conclusion:We have found some care for performing physical and work treatment, but other studies are necessary to create medical technique suggestions.

Abdominal wall reconstruction in patients presenting with enteric fistulas and mesh infection is challenging. There is a consensus that synthetic mesh must be avoided in infected operations, and the alternatives to using synthetic mesh, such as component separation techniques and biologic mesh, present disappointing results with expressive wound infection and hernia recurrence rates. A prospective clinical trial designed to evaluate the short- and long-term outcomes of 40 patients submitted to elective abdominal wall repair with synthetic mesh in the dirty-infected setting, and compared to a cohort of 40 patients submitted to clean ventral hernia repairs. Patients in both groups were submitted to a single-staged repair using onlay polypropylene mesh reinforcement. Groups' characteristics were similar. There were 13 (32.5%) surgical site occurrences in the infected mesh (IM) group, compared to 11 (27.5%) in the clean-control (CC) group, p = 0.626. The 30-day surgical site infection rate was 15% for the IM group vs. 10% for the CC cases, p = 0.499. One patient required a complete mesh removal in each group. The mean overall follow-up was 50.2 ± 14.8 months, with 36 patients in the IM group and 38 clean-controls completing a follow-up of 36 months. There was one hernia recurrence (4.2%) in the IM group and no recurrences in the CC group. We demonstrated that using polypropylene mesh in the infected setting presented similar outcomes to clean repairs. The use of synthetic mesh in the onlay position resulted in a safe and durable abdominal wall reconstruction. Study registered at Plataforma Brasil (plataformabrasil.saude.gov.br), CAAE 30836614.7.0000.0068. Study registered at Clinical Trials (clinicaltrials.gov), Identifier NCT03702153.

Differences in the effectiveness of diurnal and nocturnal visitors could imply specialization in plant–pollinator interactions. Consequently, floral traits (e.g. period of anthesis onset, colours, scent, and time of nectar production) could reflect adaptation to the most effective pollinator. Despite the period of anthesis onset being frequently reported as an important factor for plant reproductive success, no previous study experimentally evaluated this effect. Flowers of Agarista revoluta (Ericaceae) present anthesis both at day and at night and are visited by diurnal and nocturnal pollinators. We conducted an exclusion experiment in these flowers in order to evaluate the effectiveness of nocturnal versus diurnal pollinators and the effect of the period of anthesis onset on plant reproductive success. We also measured the nectar production in these two times of the day and analysed the structure of nectaries and osmophores in order to assess the relationship between these floral traits and the foraging activity of the most effective pollinator. Nocturnal moths were the most effective pollinators, as flowers visited by this group produced more fruits than those visited by diurnal pollinators. Nectar was produced by a nectary at the ovary base, and this secretion was higher at night. Although more flowers opened at night, the period of anthesis onset had no effect on plant reproductive success or on nectar production. Our results indicate that A. revoluta presents a floral adaptation to nocturnal moths, suggesting specialization to these pollinators and that there is no effect of the period of anthesis onset on plant reproductive success.

Obesity represents a global health problem and is characterized by metabolic dysfunctions and a low-grade chronic inflammatory state, which can increase the risk of comorbidities, such as atherosclerosis, diabetes and insulin resistance. Here we tested the hypothesis that the genetic deletion of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) may rescue metabolic and inflammatory features present in BACHD mice, a mouse model of Huntington's disease (HD) with an obese phenotype. For that, we crossed BACHD and mGluR5 knockout mice (mGluR5

International audience; During recent decades, the use of enzymes or chemoenzymatic cascades for organic chemistry has gained much importance in fundamental and industrial research. Moreover, several enzymatic and chemoenzymatic reactions have also served in green and sustainable manufacturing processes especially in fine chemicals, pharmaceutical, and flavor/fragrance industries. Unfortu- nately, only a few processes have been applied at industrial scale because of the low stabilities of enzymes along with the problematic processes of their recovery and reuse. Immobilization and co-immobilization offer an ideal solution to these problems. This review gives an overview of all the pathways for enzyme immobilization and their use in integrated enzymatic and chemoenzymatic processes in cascade or in a one-pot concomitant execution. We place emphasis on the factors that must be considered to understand the process of immobilization. A better understanding of this fundamental process is an essential tool not only in the choice of the best route of immobilization but also in the understanding of their catalytic activity.

Butenolides and tetronic acids occupy a prominent position in synthetic chemistry due to their ubiquitous distribution in nature. This has stimulated investigations firstly in the synthesis of such systems and, laterly, the interest has turned to the understanding of the quantum structure of such systems, allowing a deeper understanding of the mechanism and reactivity of this cyclic scaffold. In contrast, tetronamides, which consist of compounds bearing a 4-aminofuran-2(5H)-one backbone, are relatively rare in nature and synthetic routes to such compounds are poorly explored. This review highlights both the importance of the tetronamide scaffold in medicinal chemistry and the most relevant recondite synthetic strategies for obtaining compounds of this class.

In this paper, an enhanced Virtual Element Method (VEM) formulation is proposed for plane elasticity. It is based on the improvement of the strain representation within the element, without altering the degree of the displacement interpolating functions on the element boundary. The idea is to fully exploit polygonal elements with a high number of sides, a peculiar VEM feature, characterized by many displacement degrees of freedom on the element boundary, even if a low interpolation order is assumed over each side. The proposed approach is framed within a generalization of the classic VEM formulation, obtained by introducing an energy norm in the projection operator definition. Although such generalization may mainly appear to have a formal value, it allows to effectively point out the mechanical meaning of the quantities involved in the projection operator definition and to drive the selection of the enhanced representations. Various enhancements are proposed and tested through several numerical examples. Numerical results successfully show the capability of the enhanced VEM formulation to (i) considerably increase accuracy (with respect to standard VEM) while keeping the optimal convergence rate, (ii) bypass the need of stabilization terms in many practical cases, (iii) obtain natural serendipity elements in many practical cases, and (vi) effectively treat also nearly incompressible materials., 27 pages, 6 figures

In this paper, a staggered multiphysics framework is proposed for the numerical simulation of salt crystallization-induced damage in porous building materials, such as masonry. This staggered framework is based upon a multiphase model to account for salt transport and crystallization within the porous material and a plastic-damage model to account for the nonlinear mechanical behavior of the material. The staggered structure is composed of a two-way data exchange between the multiphase and the mechanical models. Firstly, crystallization pressure information is passed to the mechanical model to analyze the mechanical response of the material. Secondly, the mechanical outcomes (e.g. damage distribution) are used to update some multiphase model properties (e.g. tortuosity) allowing simulations also beyond the onset of damage. Few simple geometry-based relationships are discussed to update multiphase model properties along with damage. Numerical examples are used to show the capability of the proposed staggered framework for simulating complex interactions among salt transport, salt crystallization, and damage within the porous material, highlighting the possibilities of this modeling approach to conduct simulations also beyond the onset of damage.

In this paper, a first-order virtual element method for Reissner–Mindlin plates is presented. A standard displacement-based variational formulation is employed, assuming transverse displacement and rotations as independent variables. In the framework of the first-order virtual element, a piecewise linear approximation is assumed for both displacement and rotations on the boundary of the element. The consistent term of the stiffness matrix is determined assuming uncoupled polynomial approximations for the generalized strains, with different polynomial degrees for bending and shear parts. In order to mitigate shear locking in the thin-plate limit while keeping the element formulation as simple as possible, a selective scheme for the stabilization term of the stiffness matrix is introduced, to indirectly enrich the approximation of the transverse displacement with respect to that of the rotations. Element performance is tested on various numerical examples involving both thin and thick plates and different polygonal meshes.

Introduction: Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) is thought to play a role in the neurobiological processes implicated in mood and anxiety disorders. NT-3 is a potential pharmacological target for mood disorder...

In this article, a series of 20 new thiosemicarbazone derivatives containing indole were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-inflammatory potential.The compounds were obtained through a synthetic route of only two steps, with yields that varied between 33.6 and 90.4%, and characterized by spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques.An initial screening through the lymphoproliferation assay revealed that compounds LT76, LT81, and LT87 were able to inhibit lymphocyte proliferation, with CCThese results demonstrate the potency of thiosemicarbazone derivatives containing indole and confirm their importance as scaffolds of molecules with notorious anti-inflammatory activity.

This paper investigates the shear response and failure mode of masonry triplets subjected to monotonic and cyclic shear loadings. In this experimental campaign, different masonry triplets using different mortar compositions have been constructed and subjected to different levels of pre-compression. The cohesion and internal friction angle were derived assuming a Mohr-Coulomb criterion and using a linear regression equation. The influence of the strength of the mortar under monotonic and cyclic conditions was investigated. From the results analysis, it was shown that the mortar composition and pre-compression load strongly affect the shear strength of the masonry triplets. Also, triplets subjected to cyclic shear loading sustained a lower peak strength when compared to triplets subjected to monotonic loading.

Resume La transplantation pulmonaire (TP) est le seul traitement qui puisse etre propose pour permettre la survie des patients en insuffisance respiratoire terminale. L’objectif de notre etude est d’explorer les progres realises au cours des deux dernieres decennies pour demontrer l’efficacite et la securite de ce traitement. Methodes Analyse retrospective d’une cohorte monocentrique des 600 premiers patients ayant eu consecutivement une TP a l’hopital Foch (Suresnes, France) entre 1988 et 2014. Cette cohorte a ete divisee en 3 groupes chronologiques de 200 patients (1988–2004, 2004–2011, 2011–2014) Resultats La duree d’attente, la mortalite perioperatoire, l’incidence des rejets aigus cellulaires de la premiere annee et du rejet chronique (RC) a 5 ans ont toutes diminue. La survie actuarielle globale a 1 et 5 ans, de 78 % et 57 % pour les 600 patients, est passee a 86 % et 75 % pour les 200 derniers (> 2011). Elle est meilleure a 5 ans pour la mucoviscidose (68 %) que pour l’emphyseme (54 %) et la fibrose pulmonaire (37 %). Pour les 200 derniers patients, elle est a 5 ans de 81 % pour la mucoviscidose, de 78 % pour l’emphyseme et de 47 % pour les fibroses. Elle est de 60 % a 5 ans en cas de transplantation dite de super-urgence. Une surveillance attentive et prolongee doit detecter les complications proliferatives et gerer l’hypertension et la toxicite renale medicamenteuse. Conclusion En 25 ans, des progres considerables en TP ont hisse cette procedure au rang de therapeutique reconnue de l’insuffisance respiratoire chronique terminale.

© 2018 The Authors The accurate evaluation of wind loads on high-rise buildings represents a key point in their design process. Traditionally, atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel tests, conceived in order to be representative of the wind conditions expected on site, are used for this purpose. Recently, owing to the increase in computational power, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques have gained interest as a complementary tool to wind tunnel testing. Unfortunately, wind flow around bluff bodies is often very complex and substantial research efforts are still needed in order to assess the accuracy and reliability of CFD results. In this paper, Large Eddy Simulations (LES) are performed aimed at evaluating the wind loads on an isolated high-rise building. In order to assess the capabilities of LES for adoption as a design tool, the results are analysed in terms of both pressure distributions and internal forces on the structural elements. It is found that the accuracy of LES in reproducing the fluctuating pressure field is not necessarily maintained when internal forces are taken into account. Nevertheless, the design values predicted by LES can be still considered satisfactory, in particular when maximum and minimum values over different angles of attack are considered. ispartof: JOURNAL OF WIND ENGINEERING AND INDUSTRIAL AERODYNAMICS vol:180 pages:1-18 status: published