Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Très petites, petites et moyennes entreprises : entre tradition et innovation... Une recension des travaux du Céreq (1985-2007)

Cet opus est redige a partir d'une recension des travaux sur les tres petites entreprises (TPE) et petites et moyennes entreprises (PME), realises au sein du Cereq et de son reseau de centres associes regionaux au cours des deux dernieres decennies. Si les PME et les TPE creent relativement plus d'emplois que les grandes entreprises, elles en detruisent egalement, notamment dans les plus petites d'entre-elles, en particulier dans les services. Seule une minorite d'entre-elles, aujourd'hui frequemment designees par le nom de "gazelles" ont un effet majeur sur l'emploi. Les « gazelles » se distinguent des autres PME perennes par un taux annuel de creation d'emplois tres eleve. Face a la concurrence des grandes entreprises, elles peinent a embaucher et a garder les personnels qualifies necessaires. Tout au plus peut-on souligner leur place privilegiee dans la primo-insertion des jeunes, puisqu'une grande majorite de ces derniers sont accueillis prioritairement par ces entreprises a travers les contrats d'apprentissage et de professionnalisation. Si l'on ajoute le role non negligeable des TPE-PME dans la reinsertion des demandeurs d'emploi âges et surtout dans leur forte utilisation des politiques d'emploi, on pourrait considerer les PME et en particulier les TPE comme un veritable "marche transitionnel". Quant a la formation professionnelle dans les TPE-PME, elle depend en grande partie de l'ouverture de ces entreprises sur leur environnement. En ce sens, il convient d'une part, de favoriser la mise en oeuvre de services de proximite remplissant des fonctions d'intermediation sur le marche de la formation et, d'autre part, de promouvoir la mise en reseau des entreprises dans un territoire donne, source d'economie d'echelle et de formation sur mesure. (intro)
Unforgeability of an improved certificateless signature scheme in the standard model

Certificateless signature is an interesting cryptographic primitive which does not suffer from the inherent key escrow problem of identity-based cryptography and the costly certificate management problem of traditional public key cryptography. Since security proofs in the random oracle model can only be viewed as heuristic arguments and cannot ensure the security in the real implementation, certificateless signature schemes with security proofs in the standard model (i.e. without random oracles) is more desirable. Some attempts have been devoted to propose certificateless signature schemes in the standard model, whereas all of these schemes are later shown to be either insecure or flawed in the security proofs. Recently, a new certificateless signature scheme in the standard model has been proposed. However, in this study the authors show that this scheme cannot resist the key replacement attack, and hence it is not existentially unforgeable.
Experimental Determination of Entanglement by a Projective Measurement

We describe a method in which the entanglement of any pure quantum state can be experimentally determined by a simple projective measurement, provided the state is available in a twofold copy. We propose implementations of this approach for various systems and discuss in detail its first experimental realization, which employed twin photons entangled in two degrees of freedom, prepared in identical polarization and momentum states. We analyze the effect of errors due to imperfect state preparation.
MR textural analysis on T2 FLAIR images for the prediction of true oligodendroglioma by the 2016 WHO genetic classification

The genetic status of 1p/19q is important for differentiating oligodendroglioma, isocitrate‐dehydrogenase (IDH)‐mutant, and 1p/19q‐codeleted from diffuse astrocytoma, IDH‐mutant according to the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) criteria.
[Impairment of pancreatic islet beta cell function induced by intermittent high glucose through oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress: experiment with rat pancreatic islet beta cells].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of intermittent high glucose (IHG) on the pancreatic islet beta-cell function and mechanism thereof. METHODS Rat pancreatic islet p-cells of the line INS-1 were cultured and randomly divided into 3 groups: IHG group exposed to fluctuating concentrations of glucose, stable high glucose (SHG) group exposed to 16. 7 mmol/L glucose, and control group exposed to normal concentration (5.5 mmol/L) glucose. 24, 48, and 72 hours later radioimmunoassay was used to detect the insulin secretion index (ISI). 72 h later, the concentration of insulin in the cells was detected with radioimmunoassay. The contents of oxidative stress markers, nitrotyrosine (NT) and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were detected. Real-time PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of peroxiredoxin 1 (PDX-1), ATF-4, one of the transcription factors of the family bZIP, and insulin. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression of ATF-4. RESULTS The ISI of the IHG and SHG groups decreased time-dependently, The ISI of IHG and SHG groups were 0.64 +/- 0.11 and 1.31 +/- 0. 04 respectively, both significantly lower than that of the control group (1.67 +/- 0.23, both P < 0.05). The intracellular insulin contents of the IHG and SHG groups were (10.91 +/- 0.14) and (11.08 +/- 0.03) +/- U/microg respectively, both significantly lower than that of the control group [(12.37 +/- 0.37) microU/microg, both P < 0.05]. The intracellular concentrations of 8-OHdG and NT of the SHG and IHG groups, were significantly higher than those of the control group (all P < 0.01), and those of the IHG group were significantly higher than those of the SHG group (both P < 0.05). The mRNA and protein expression levels of ATF-4 of the IHG group were all significantly higher than those of the control group (all P < 0.05) and those of the IHG group were significantly higher than those of the SHG group (both P < 0.05). CONCLUSION IHG and SHG induce severe impairment in pancreatic islet beta cell functions, especially IHG, which is closely associated with the aggravation of oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress triggered by intermittent high glucose.
Inhibition of the Activity of Both Domains of Lysostaphin through Peptidoglycan Modification by the Lysostaphin Immunity Protein

ABSTRACT Resistance to lysostaphin, a staphylolytic glycylglycine endopeptidase, is due to a FemABX-like immunity protein that inserts serines in place of some glycines in peptidoglycan cross bridges. These modifications inhibit both binding of the recombinant cell wall targeting domain and catalysis by the recombinant catalytic domain of lysostaphin.
DNA sequence analysis of the mutational specificity of u.v. light in the SUP4-o gene of yeast.

We have characterized mutations induced in the SUP4-o gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by u.v. irradiation. Mutants were selected following treatment with 60 J/m2 u.v. light which reduced cell survival to 10% and increased the SUP4-o mutation frequency 100-fold above background. DNA sequence analysis of 120 mutants revealed that u.v. induced all types of base substitutions, although transitions, in particular G:C----A:T events predominated. In addition, a small number of single base pair deletions and double mutations, occurring in tandem or separated by a few base pairs, were recovered. The base pair substitutions were not distributed randomly in the SUP4-o gene and, with one exception, were all located at sites of adjacent pyrimidines, suggesting that they were targeted by u.v. photolesions. A substantial fraction of the mutations were detected at hotspots for u.v. mutagenesis. The majority of changes occurred at the 3' base of dipyrimidine sequences where both cyclobutane dimers and [6-4]-photoproducts could form. Approximately one-third of the induced base substitutions were found at potential pyrimidine dimer sites where [6-4]-photoproducts would be expected to occur rarely. The possible origins of the induced mutations and the role of cyclobutane dimers as premutational u.v. lesions in yeast are considered.
(‐)‐BAY K 8644 LIBERATES A CONTRACTANT FACTOR FROM THE ENDOTHELIUM OF THE RAT AORTA

Summary— The contractile activity of (‐)‐Bay k 8644 was assessed in rat isolated aortic ring preparations bathed in a potassium‐free medium. (‐)‐Bay k 8644 (0.01–3 μM) caused extracellular calcium‐dependent contractile responses, which were significantly greater in tissues with, than deprived of a functional endothelium. In preparations with an endothelium, the contraction was attenuated by quinacrine (1 μM), indomethacin (10 μM) and diclofenac (0.1 μM), but not changed by nordihydroguaiaretic acid (30 μM) or dazoxiben (10 μM). Thus, in the rat aorta bathed in K+‐free medium, (‐)‐Bay k 8644 can cause contractile effects, apparently due to the release of an endothelium‐derived contractant factor (EDCF) which is proposed to be a cyclo‐oxygenase product.
Glucocorticoid receptor polymorphism is associated with lithium response in bipolar patients.

OBJECTIVES Glucocorticoid receptor has been considered in the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder as it is an important regulator of the circadian rhythm and HPA negative feedback. As glucocorticoid receptor may be possibly related to lithium action we aimed to investigate variation in the GR gene in association with response to lithium treatment in Polish population of bipolar patients. METHODS We analyzed 115 bipolar patients treated with lithium carbonate for 5-27 years. Thirty patients were identified as excellent lithium responders (ER), 58 patients as partial responders (PR), and 27 patients were non-responders. Genotypes of eight analyzed polymorphisms of GR gene (rs10052957, rs6196, rs6198, rs6191, rs258813, rs33388, rs6195, rs41423247) were established by TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays. Statistical analysis was done with Statistica version 9.0. Linkage disequilibrium analysis was performed in Haploview v. 4.1. RESULTS We have found significant differences in allele frequencies for BclI polymorphism between patients with different lithium response with C allele associated with excellent lithium response. For the other GR polymorphisms any significant association with different lithium response was found. We observed a strong linkage disequilibrium of five GR polymorphisms (rs6198, rs6191, rs6196, rs258813, rs33388), with TAAGA haplotype more prevalent in the group of partial- and non-responders to lithium. CONCLUSION The GR gene variation seems to be involved in the response to lithium treatment in our group of bipolar patients.
Emphysema in young adult survivors of moderate-to-severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Improved survival following extreme preterm birth complicated by bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is resulting in an increasing number of affected infants surviving to adulthood. The aim of the present pilot study was to describe the functional and structural pulmonary sequelae of moderate and severe BPD in a population of adult survivors. All babies were cared for at one institution (King Edward Memorial Hospital, Subiaco, Australia). Subjects born between 1980 and 1987 with birthweight <1,500 g and requiring supplementary oxygen at 36 weeks post-menstrual age were identified from a complete neonatal database and recruited prospectively. Local physicians were concurrently asked to refer suitable patients. Demographics, respiratory symptoms and examination results, pulmonary function tests and computed tomography images were acquired. In total, 21 subjects were studied. Of these, 12 were female, the median (range) age was 19 (17–33) yrs and 15 (71%) had persistent respiratory symptoms. The median (range) forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) z-score was -0.77 (-8.20–1.37), the forced expiratory flow at 25–75% of forced vital capacity was -1.81 (-6.00–0.75) and the diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide was -5.04 (-13.17– -1.24). Computed tomography was carried out on 19 subjects and all had abnormal findings, with emphysema being the most common, present in 84% of subjects. The extent of radiological emphysema was inversely related to the FEV1 z-score. Young adult survivors of moderate and severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia may be left with residual functional and characteristic structural pulmonary abnormalities, most notably emphysema.
Mise à jour 2013 des indicateurs de réglementation des marchés de produits de l'OCDE

Cette etude examine la reglementation du marche des produits a travers 34 pays de l'OCDE et 21 pays non membres de l'OCDE, en utilisant une version mise a jour et revisee des indicateurs de reglementation des marches de produits (RMP) de l'OCDE. L'analyse montre que la liberalisation des marches de produits a continue de se ralentir au cours des cinq dernieres annees. Cependant, meme s'il y a eu peu de progres en moyenne dans les pays de l'OCDE au cours de cette periode, un certain nombre de ces pays ont mis en place des reformes non-negligeables, souvent dans le but d’augmenter la croissance economique a la suite de la crise economique. En moyenne dans l'OCDE, les pays ont fait des progres en particulier concernant la suppression des mesures de controle des prix ou l'amelioration de leur conception, la simplification des procedures administratives concernant la creation d’entreprises, la simplification des regles et des procedures ou l'amelioration de l'acces a l'information relative a la reglermentation. Les possibilites d’amelioration supplementaire les plus importantes sont dans les domaines de la presence capitalistique de l’Etat et la gouvernance des entreprises publiques ainsi que dans les obstacles a la concurrence dans les secteurs de reseau et des services.
Detection of single and multiple polymorphic loci by synthetic tandem repeats of short oligonucleotides

Loci containing tandem repeats of short sequences are sometimes associated with a high level of polymorphism due to variations in the number of repeats. The different variants can be easily characterized by Southern blotting when the repeats span a range from a few hundred bases to a few kilobases, and probes derived from such tandem repeats constitute convenient genetic markers. These structures, usually called minisatellites, are best documented in the human genome, where their number has been estimated to be at least 1500. However, their role and mode of evolution are poorly understood. We are developing tools to evaluate the number of such redunddant sequences in a genome and to gain access to new polymorphic loci. Our strategy is based on the use of polymers of oligonucleotides as DNA probes for hybridization on Southern blots. In a previous report, we made polymers with random units of 14 bp and showed that they detect multiple polymorphic loci on human genomic DNA. At present, we are testing the effect of an increase in the complexity of the polymer, as obtained by the use of a longer random unit, and the effect of slight sequence modifications to a particular tandem repeat sequence. In addition, some of these synthetic probes can detect a single polymorphic locus and directly provide new genetic markers.
Canine hair as a model for tracing ethylmercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines. Author reply.

We thank Mr. José G. Dórea for his interest in our article Total mercury content in canine hair before and after administration of vaccines containing thiomersal, which deals with the determination of total mercury in hair of dogs after administration of thiomersal-containing vaccine (TCV) with ethylmercury as active substance. We thank him, in particular, for very inspiring and valuable comments that we will use in our future work.
Topic-Oriented Exploratory Search Based on an Indexing Network

An exploratory search may be driven by a user's curiosity or desire for specific information. When users investigate unfamiliar fields, they may want to learn more about a particular subject area to increase their knowledge rather than solve a specific problem. This work proposes a topic-oriented exploratory search method that provides browse guidance to users. It allows them to discover new associations and knowledge, and helps them find their interested information and knowledge. Since an exploratory search needs to judge the ability to discover new knowledge, the existing commonly used metrics fail to capture it. This paper thus defines a new set of criteria containing clarity, relevance, novelty, and diversity to analyze the effectiveness of an exploratory search. Experiments are designed to compare results from the proposed method and Google's “search related to . ” The results show that the proposed one is more suitable for learning new associations and discovering new knowledge with highly likely relevance to a query. This work concludes that it is more suitable than Google for an exploratory search.
Clinical Manifestations of Secondary Syphilis

ABSTRACT: The results of a prospective study, a/med at having a fresh look at the clinical features of secondary syphilis in 89 patients, are presented. Eighty‐one (91.0%) had syphilides, and of these, 24 (29.6%) had atypical morphology. Two or more groups of lymph nodes were enlarged in 60, and hepato‐splenomegaly was seen in 20 (22.5%) patients. Condylomata lata in atypical sites occurred in six patients. A total of W patients had alopecia on the scalp, and anterior uveitis was seen in 7 (7.9%). The clear CSF showed minimal elevation of lymphocytes in one of the 21 patients on whom lumbar puncture was performed and may, therefore, be considered unnecessary as a routine procedure. An awareness of the varied clinical presentations would assist in early diagnosis of the disease and help reduce its complications.
Axis I comorbidity in bipolar disorder with psychotic features

Background Axis I comorbidities are prevalent among patients with severe bipolar disorder but the clinical and psychopathological implications are not clear. Aims To investigate characteristics of four groups of patients categorised as follows: substance abuse only (group I), substance abuse associated with other Axis I disorders (group 2), non-substance-abuse Axis I comorbidity (group 3), no psychiatric comorbidity (group 4) Method Consecutive patients with bipolar disorder with psychotic features (n=125) were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM–III–R – patient version, and several psychopathological scales. Results By comparison with group 4, group I had a higher risk of having mood-incongruent delusions, group 2 had an earlier age at onset of mood disorder, a more frequent onset with a mixed state and a higher risk of suicide, and group 3 had more severe anxiety and a better awareness of illness. Conclusions Substance abuse, non-substance-abuse Axis I comorbidity and their reciprocal association are associated with different characteristics of bipolar disorder.
The effects of different sperm preparation methods and incubation time on the sperm DNA fragmentation

Purpose: To study the effect of different sperm preparation methods and incubation times post preparation on sperm DNA fragmentation. Methods: Sperm DNA fragmentation was assessed by sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) method on motile sperm prepared by gradient centrifugation or swim-up and incubated in IVF medium for up to 24 hours. Data were analyzed to discover the effect of preparation methods and incubation times on sperm DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI). Results: There were no differences in DFI in sperm samples prepared by gradient centrifugation method or swim-up (3.87 ± 2.14 vs. 3.45 ± 1.83, p = 0.544). However, an increase was observed in DFI in samples prepared by swim-up after 6–8 hours compared with by gradient centrifugation (34° vs. 13°, p = 0.04). In the swim-up group, the DFI level at 4 hours was already significantly higher than it was initially. However, following gradient centrifugation, the DFI at 8 hours was significantly higher than the initial DFI level. Conclusion: Sperm samples prepared by gradient centrifugation may be more stable compared to samples prepared by swim-up in terms of DNA Fragmentation.
Polydim-I antimicrobial activity against MDR bacteria and its model membrane interaction

The rapid spread of multi-drug resistant pathogens represents a serious threat to public health, considering factors such as high mortality rates, treatment restrictions and high prevalence of multi-drug resistant bacteria in the hospital environment. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) may exhibit powerful antimicrobial activity against different and diverse microorganisms, also presenting the advantage of absence or low toxicity towards animal cells. In this study, the evaluation of the antimicrobial activity against multi-drug resistant bacteria of a recently described AMP from wasp, Polydim-I, was performed. Polydim-I presented activity against standard strains (non-carriers of multi-resistant genes) that are susceptible to commercial antimicrobials, and also against multi-drug resistant strains at concentrations bellow 1μg/ml (0.41 μM). This is a rather low concentration among those reported for AMPs. At this concentration we found out that Polydim-I inhibits almost 100% of the tested pathogens growth, while with the ATCC strains the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC100) is 400 times higher. Also, in relation to in vitro activity of conventional drugs against multi-drug resistant bacteria strains, Polydim-I is almost 10 times more efficient and with broader spectrum. Cationic AMPs are known as multi-target compounds and specially for targeting the phospholipid matrix of bacterial membranes. Exploring the interactions of Polydim-I with lipid bilayers, we have confirmed that this interaction is involved in the mechanism of action. Circular dichroism experiments showed that Polydim-I undergoes a conformational transition from random coil to a mostly helical conformation in the presence of membrane mimetic environments. Zeta potential measurements confirmed the binding and partial charge neutralization of anionic asolectin vesicles, and also suggested a possible aggregation of peptide molecules. FTIR experiments confirmed that some peptide aggregation occurs, which is minimized in the presence of strongly anionic micelles of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Also, Polydim-I induced channel-like structures formation to asolectin lipid bilayers, as demonstrated in the electrophysiology experiments. We suggest that cationic Polydim-I targets the membrane lipids due to electrostatic attraction, partially accumulates, neutralizing the opposite charges and induces pore formation. Similar mechanism of action has already been suggested for other peptides from wasp venoms, especially mastoparans.
The variance analysis of clinical pathway in children with bronchopneumonia

The objective of this article is to summarize and analyze the variance of clinical pathway in children with bronchopneumonia and come to a rectification in order to reduce variance cases. The objects are children with bronchopneumonia from April 2010 to April 2011 in our hospital. We made a statistic about the number of variance cases and variance reasons and got the results as below: ® there were 46 cases into the pathway totally in the first 5 months. And 12 of them developed variance (26.1%) among which plus-variance accounts for 83.3%. Then we adjusted the standard for the averaged length of stay (ALS) from 7∼14 days to 5∼10 days. After that, there were 121 cases into the pathway. And 42 of them developed variance (34.7%); © the causes for variance include: the rapid recovery (31.9%), secondary infection (26.2%), severe condition (23.8%), accompanied by other diseases (11.9%) and applications by patients' parents (7.1%). So we draw the conclusions: ® it is reasonable to make 5∼10 days as the standard for ALS for children with bronchopneumonia in our hospital; © taking precautions against hospital infection would decrease variance rate effectively.