pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Biological response to purification and acid functionalization of carbon nanotubes

The final publication is available at Springer via: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11051-014-2507-yInternational audienceAcid functionalization has been considered as an easy way to enhance the dispersion and biodegradation of carbon nanotubes (CNT). However, inconsistencies between toxicity studies of acid functionalized CNT remain unexplained. This could be due to a joint effect of the main physicochemical modifications resulting from an acid functionalization: addition of surface acid groups and purification from catalytic metallic impurities. In this study, the impact on CNT biotoxicity of these two physiochemical features was assessed separately. The in vitro biological response of RAW 264.7 macrophages was evaluated after exposure to 15-240 µg x mL<sup>−1</sup> of two types of multi-walled CNT. For each type of CNT (small: 20 nm diameter, and big: 90 nm diameter), three different surface chemical properties were studied (total of six CNT samples): pristine, acid functionalized and desorbed. Desorbed CNT were purified by the acid functionalization but presented a very low amount of surface acid groups due to a thermal treatment under vacuum. A Janus effect of acid functionalization with two opposite impacts is highlighted. The CNT purification decreased the overall toxicity, while the surface acid groups intensified it when present at a specific threshold. These acid groups especially amplified the pro-inflammatory response. The threshold mechanism which seemed to regulate the impact of acid groups should be further studied to determine its value and potential link to the other physicochemical state of the CNT. The results suggest that, for a safer-design approach, the benefit-risk balance of an acid functionalization has to be considered, depending on the CNT primary state of purification. Further research should be conducted in this direction
Semantic A-translation and Super-consistency entail Classical Cut Elimination

International audienceWe show that if a theory R defined by a rewrite system is super-consistent, the classical sequent calculus modulo R enjoys the cut elimination property, which was an open question. For such theories it was already known that proofs strongly normalize in natural deduction modulo R, and that cut elimination holds in the intuitionistic sequent calculus modulo R. We first define a syntactic and a semantic version of Friedman's A-translation, showing that it preserves the structure of pseudo-Heyting algebra, our semantic framework. Then we relate the interpretation of a theory in the A-translated algebra and its A-translation in the original algebra. This allows to show the stability of the super-consistency criterion and the cut elimination theorem
Histological and biomechanical study of dura mater applied to the technique of dura splitting decompression in Chiari type I malformation.

International audienceMany techniques are described to treat Chiari type I malformation. One of them is a splitting of the dura, removing its outer layer only to reduce the risks of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. We try to show the effectiveness of this technique from histological and biomechanical observations of dura mater. Study was performed on 25 posterior fossa dura mater specimens from fresh human cadavers. Dural composition and architecture was assessed on 47 transversal and sagittal sections. Uniaxial mechanical tests were performed on 22 dural samples (15 entire, 7 split) to focus on the dural macroscopic mechanical behavior comparing entire and split samples and also to understand deformation mechanisms. We finally created a model of volume expansion after splitting. Dura mater was composed of predominant collagen fibers with a few elastin fibers, cranio-caudally orientated. The classical description of two distinct layers remained inconstant. Biomechanical tests showed a significant difference between entire dura, which presents an elastic fragile behavior, with a small domain where deformation is reversible with stress, and split dura, which presents an elasto-plastic behavior with a large domain of permanent strain and a lower stress level. From these experimental results, the model showed a volume increase of approximately 50% below the split area. We demonstrated the capability of the split dura mater to enlarge for suitable stress conditions and we quantified it by biomechanical tests and experimental model. Thus, dural splitting decompression seems to have a real biomechanical substrate to envision the efficacy of this Chiari type I malformation surgical technique
Will precious metals shine ? A market efficiency perspective

International audiencePrecious metals (gold, silver, and platinum) have become an important part of investment portfolios forindividuals as well as for institutions. This paper examines the weak-form efficiency of precious metal markets, using the automatic portmanteau and variance ratio tests. It is found that return predictability of these markets has been changing over time, depending on the prevailing economic and political conditions. The return predictability of gold and silver markets has been showing downward trends, implying that the degree of the weak-form efficiency of these markets has been gradually improving. In particular, the gold market has been highly efficient recently, showing the highest degree of market efficiency among the three precious metal markets
Magmas trapped at the continental lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary

International audienceThe lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) beneath the continents is a key interface in plate tectonics, yet its nature remains elusive. A partial melt layer has been advocated to explain its geophysical characteristics. However, the main counter-argument is that such a layer can not be stable as melts should rise through the lithosphere. Density measurements of volatile-containing alkali basalts taken as a proxy for LAB melts show that they are neutrally buoyant at the pressure (P)- temperature (T) conditions of the LAB under continents. Complementary X-ray diffraction and Raman data provide structural insights on melt compaction mecha- nisms. Basalts generated below the lithosphere may thus be gravitationally trapped and accumulate over time. Their presence provide answers to key questions on continental lithosphere geodynamics, and in particular on cratonic keels stability. This buoyancy trap would cease to exist at higher mantle T such as those relevant of the Archean, and as such, could be linked to the onset of plate tectonics
Pseudo Dynamic Transitional Modeling of Building Heating Energy Demand Using Artificial Neural Network

International audienceThis paper presents the building heating demand prediction model with occupancy profile and operational heating power level characteristics in short time horizon (a couple of days) using artificial neural network. In addition, novel pseudo dynamic transitional model is introduced, which consider time dependent attributes of operational power level characteristics and its effect in the overall model performance is outlined. Pseudo dynamic model is applied to a case study of French Institution building and compared its results with static and other pseudo dynamic neural network models. The results show the coefficients of correlation in static and pseudo dynamic neural network model of 0.82 and 0.89 (with energy consumption error of 0.02%) during the learning phase, and 0.61 and 0.85 during the prediction phase respectively. Further, orthogonal array design is applied to the pseudo dynamic model to check the schedule of occupancy profile and operational heating power level characteristics. The results show the new schedule and provide the robust design for pseudo dynamic model. Due to prediction in short time horizon, it finds application for Energy Services Company (ESCOs) to manage the heating load for dynamic control of heat production system
Nanoscience, nanotechnology and spectrometry

Nanoscience has outgrown its infancy, and nanotechnology has found important applications in our daily life — with many more to come. Although the central concepts of the nano world, namely the changes of particular physical properties on the length scale of individual atoms and molecules, have been known and developed for quite some time already, experimental advances since the 1980s and recognition of the potential of nano- materials led to a genuine breakthrough of the inherently multidisciplinary nanoscience field. Analytical nanoscience and nanotechnology and especially the use of micro and nano electro mechanical systems, of the quantum dots and of mass spectrometry, currently provide one of the most promising avenues for developments in analytical science, derived from their two main fields of action, namely (a) the analysis of nano-structured materials and (b) their use as new tools for analysis. An overview is given of recent developments and trends in the field, highlighting the importance and point out future directions, while also touching drawbacks, such as emerging concerns about health and environmental issues
Lifetime of superheated water in a micrometric synthetic fluid inclusion

International audienceA synthetic pure water fluid inclusion presenting a wide temperature range of metastability (Th - Tn ≈ 50°C; temperature of homogenization Th = 144°C and nucleation temperature of Tn = 89°C) was selected to make a kinetic study of the lifetime of an isolated microvolume of superheated water. The occluded liquid was placed in the metastable field by isochoric cooling and the duration of the metastable state was measured repetitively for 7 fixed temperatures above Tn. Statistically, measured metastability lifetimes for the 7 data sets follow the exponential Reliability distribution, i.e., the probability of non nucleation within time t equals . This enabled us to calculate the half-life periods of metastability Τ for each of the selected temperature, and then to predict Τ at any temperature T > Tn for the considered inclusion, according to the equation Τs   , (∃T = T - Tn). Hence we conclude that liquid water in water-filled reservoirs with an average pore size ≈ 104 µm3 can remain superheated over geological timelengths (107s), when placed in the metastable field at 10°C above the average nucleation temperature, which often corresponds to high liquid tensions (≈ -120 -70 MPa)
Internalization pathways into cancer cells of gadolinium-based radiosensitizing nanoparticles

International audienceOver the last few decades, nanoparticles have been studied in theranostic field with the objective of exhibiting a long circulation time through the body coupled to major accumulation in tumor tissues, rapid elimination, therapeutic potential and contrast properties. In this context, we developed sub-5 nm gadolinium-based nanoparticles that possess <i>in vitro</i> efficient radiosensitizing effects at moderate concentration when incubated with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells (SQ20B). Two main cellular internalization mechanisms were evidenced and quantified: passive diffusion and macropinocytosis. Whereas the amount of particles internalized by passive diffusion is not sufficient to induce<i>in vitro</i> a significant radiosensitizing effect, the cellular uptake by macropinocytosis leads to a successful radiotherapy in a limited range of particles incubation concentration. Macropinocytosis processes in two steps: formation of agglomerates at vicinity of the cell followed by their collect <i>via</i> the lamellipodia (<i>i.e.</i> the "arms") of the cell. The first step is strongly dependent on the physicochemical characteristics of the particles, especially their zeta potential that determines the size of the agglomerates and their distance from the cell. These results should permit to control the quantity of particles internalized in the cell cytoplasm, promising ambitious opportunities towards a particle-assisted radiotherapy using lower radiation doses
Preparation and optical properties of CeF3-containing oxide fluoride glasses

Cerium-containing oxide fluoride glasses CeF_3-BaF_2-AlF_3-SiO_2 were prepared under CO
	and Ar atmospheres. The glass prepared in CO exhibited blue emission under UV irradiation. Peak
	analyzes were performed to investigate their optical properties. The emission spectra were
	separable into three peak components by peak analysis. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS)
	spectra were measured to investigate the valency of the elements in the glass. Oxygen and fluorine
	in the glasses were more covalent and ionic than those in simple oxide and fluoride compounds.
	The cerium ion in the glass prepared in CO might be under a cationic condition whereas that in Ar
	might be under an anionic condition
Effect of lightweight supports on specific discharge capacity of β-nickel hydroxide

While the performance of βbc (bc: badly crystalline)-nickel hydroxide is relatively unaffected by the use of different lightweight supports, the specific discharge capacity of crystalline β-Ni(OH)2 doubles to approximately 355 mAh g–1 Ni (theoretical, 456 mAh g−1) when pasted to a fibre support compared with 170 mAh g–1 Ni when pasted to a nickel foam. Consequently, the fibre is a superior support as it is unaffected by the quality of the active material and extracts a consistently high performance irrespective of the degree of crystallinity, moisture content,morphology and composition of the active material. Electrochemical impedance measurements indicate that a lower charge-transfer resistance at low states-of-charge is responsible for the superior performance of fibre supported β-Ni(OH)2 electrodes
A note on nonparametric estimation of copula-based multivariate extensions of Spearman’s rho

Producción CientíficaSchmid and Schmidt (2007) proposed copula-based nonparametric estimators for some
multivariate extensions of Spearman’s rho. In this paper, we show that two of those
estimators are inappropriate since they can take values out of the parameter space and
we discuss alternative proposals.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (ECO2012-32178)Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (ECO2012-32401)Junta de Castilla y León (programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación – Ref. VA066U13
The wave equation: From eikonal to anti-eikonal approximation

When the refractive index changes very slowly compared to the wave-length we may use the eikonal approximation to the wave equation. In the opposite case, when the refractive index highly variates over the distance of one wave-length, we have what can be termed as the anti-eikonal limit. This situation is addressed in this work. The anti-eikonal limit seems to be a relevant tool in the modelling and design of new optical media. Besides, it describes a basic universal behaviour, independent of the actual values of the refractive index and, thus, of the media, for the components of a wave with wave-length much greater than the characteristic scale of the refractive index
Gradient induced artifacts in simultaneous EEG-fMRI: Effect of synchronization on spiral and EPI k-space trajectories

The nature of the gradient induced electroencephalography (EEG) artifact is analyzed and compared for two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) pulse sequences with different k-space trajectories: echo planar imaging (EPI) and spiral. Furthermore, the performance of the average artifact subtraction algorithm (AAS) to remove the gradient artifact for both sequences is evaluated. The results show that the EEG gradient artifact for spiral sequences is one order of magnitude higher than for EPI sequences due to the chirping spectrum of the spiral sequence and the dB/dt of its crusher gradients. However, in the presence of accurate synchronization, the use of AAS yields the same artifact suppression efficiency for both pulse sequences below 80 Hz. The quality of EEG signal after AAS is demonstrated for phantom and human data. EEG spectrogram and visual evoked potential (VEP) are compared outside the scanner and use both EPI and spiral pulse sequences. MR related artifact residues affect the spectra over 40 Hz (less than 0.2 μV up to 120 Hz) and modify the amplitude of P1, N2 and P300 in the VEP. These modifications in the EEG signal have to be taken into account when interpreting EEG data acquired in simultaneous EEG-fMRI experiments
Effects of mutations in the helix G region of horseradish peroxidase

Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) has long attracted intense research interest and is used in many biotechnological fields, including diagnostics, biosensors and biocatalysis. Enhancement of HRP catalytic activity and/or stability would further increase its usefulness. Based on prior art, we substituted solvent-exposed lysine and glutamic acid residues near the proximal helix G (Lys 232, 241; Glu 238, 239) and between helices F and F′ (Lys 174). Three single mutants (K232N, K232F, K241N) demonstrated increased stabilities against heat (up to 2-fold) and solvents (up to 4-fold). Stability gains are likely due to improved hydrogen bonding and space-fill characteristics introduced by the relevant substitution. Two double mutants showed stability gains but most double mutations were non-additive and non-synergistic. Substitutions of Lys 174 or Glu 238 were destabilising. Unexpectedly, notable alterations in steady-state Vm/E values occurred with reducing substrate ABTS (2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid)), despite the distance of the mutated positions from the active site
Regrowth resistance: low-level platinum resistance mediated by rapid recovery from platinum-induced cell-cycle arrest

The H69CIS200 and H69OX400 cell lines are novel models of low-level platinum drug resistance developed from H69 human small cell lung cancer cells with eight 4-day treatments of 200 ng/ml cisplatin or 400 ng/ml oxaliplatin respectively. A recovery period was given between treatments to emulate the cycles of chemotherapy given in the clinic. The resistant cell lines were approximately 2-fold resistant to cisplatin and oxaliplatin and were cross resistant to both drugs. Platinum resistance was not associated with increased cellular glutathione, decreased accumulation of platinum or increased DNA repair capacity. The H69 platinum sensitive cells entered a lengthy 3 week growth arrest in response to low-level cisplatin or oxaliplatin treatment. This is an example of the coordinated response between the cell cycle and DNA repair. In contrast the H69CIS200 and H69OX400 cells have an alteration in the cell cycle allowing them to rapidly proliferate post drug treatment. The resistant cell lines also have many chromosomal rearrangements most of which are not associated with the resistant phenotype, suggesting an increase in genomic instability in the resistant cell lines. We hypothesised that there was a lack of coordination between the cell cycle and DNA repair in the resistant cell lines allowing proliferation in the presence of DNA damage which has created an increase in genomic instability. The H69 cells and resistant cell lines have mutant p53 and consequently decrease the expression of p21 in response to platinum drug treatment, promoting progression of the cell cycle instead of increasing p21 to maintain the arrest. A decrease in ERCC1 protein expression and an increase in RAD51B foci activity was observed with the platinum induced cell cycle arrest and did not correlate with resistance or altered DNA repair capacity. These changes may in part be mediating and maintaining the cell cycle arrest in place of p21.The rapidly proliferating resistant cells have restored the levels of both these proteins to their levels in untreated cells. We use the term ‘regrowth resistance’ to describe this low-level platinum resistance where cells survive treatment through increased proliferation. Regrowth resistance may play a role in the onset of clinical resistance
3D multi-agent models for protein release from PLGA spherical particles with complex inner morphologies

In order to better understand and predict the release of proteins from bioerodible micro- or nanospheres, it is important to know the influences of different initial factors on the release mechanisms. Often though it is difficult to assess what exactly is at the origin of a certain dissolution profile. We propose here a new class of fine-grained multi-agent models built to incorporate\ud
increasing complexity, permitting the exploration of the role of different parameters, especially that of the internal morphology of the spheres, in the exhibited release profile. This approach, based on Monte-Carlo (MC) and Cellular Automata (CA) techniques, has permitted the testing of various assumptions and hypotheses about several experimental systems of nanospheres encapsulating proteins. Results have confirmed that this modelling approach\ud
has increased the resolution over the complexity involved, opening promising perspectives for future developments, especially complementing in vitro experimentation
Reforming the family code in Tunisia and Morocco - the struggle between religion, globalisation and democracy

There is no doubt that one of the most contentious terrains of contestation in the supposed clash of values between Islamism and western values is the role of women in society. Thus, the issue of women's rights has become the litmus test for Arab societies with respect to the current zeitgeist of human rights in the age of democracy and liberalism. There is today a stereotypical view of debates surrounding women's rights in the Arab world where two distinct camps are in conflict with each other. On the one hand there are 'globalised' liberal and secular actors that strive for women's rights and therefore democracy, while on the other are obscurantist movements that are anchored in religious tradition, resist globalisation and are therefore autocratic by assumption. This article challenges this view and through an empirical study of the changes to the Code of Personal Status in Tunisia and Morocco it demonstrates that the issue of women's rights is far more complex and, in particular, it finds that there is a very significant decoupling between women's rights and democracy in the region, despite a progressive liberal shift in the gender equality agenda
Cooling Strategies for Greenhouses in Summer: Control of Fogging by Pulse Width Modulation

The possibilities for improving the control of greenhouse fogging systems, were studied by comparing several combinations of ventilation cooling techniques, shade screening and low-pressure fogging. The study was divided into three parts: experiments, modelling and simulations. In the first part of the paper, ten combinations of five cooling techniques were tested during the summers of 2002 and 2003 in a 132m2 greenhouse with a steel structure and a single-layer methacrylate cover located in Madrid, Spain. An analysis of variance of the climatic parameters was carried out to determine which combinations produced significant differences in inside temperature or relative humidity. Comparing the values for the inside to outside temperature difference, the combination of a shade screen and above-screen fogging achieved a difference in temperature almost the same as that for under-screen fogging, but the relative humidity was significantly lower. In the second part of the study a dynamic model was developed (2002) and validated (2003). The mean absolute error obtained for inside temperature was similar in the fit and the validation and it was less than 1.5 1C in both cases. The model was used to simulate the inside air temperature for a fog system working without shading, and above and under a shade screen. Control algorithms were developed for reducing system water consumption. In the three cases a simple on/off control with a fixed fogging cycle was compared with a pulse width modulation (PWM) strategy, in which the duration of the fogging pulse was increased as a function of inside temperature. The strategies with PWM applied to the fog system were able to reduce water consumption by 8–15% with respect to the strategies with a fixed fogging cycle