Diffusion-limited evaporation of thin polar liquid films

The stability of evaporating very thin films of a polar liquid is investigated. The microscopic interaction with the substrate and capillarity are taken into account in a lubrication equation. The stability of a flat interface is studied when evaporation is limited by the diffusion of the vapour in the gas phase. The evaporation rate is computed and evaporation is shown to be stabilizing. A stability phase diagram is obtained. A weakly nonlinear analysis leads to a film-thickness amplitude equation that is non local in space. Physical consequences of the results are eventually discussed.     

Characterization of archaeological beeswax by electron ionization and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

To better detect and identify beeswax in ancient organic residues from archaeological remains, we developed a new analytical methodology consisting of the analysis of (i) the trimethylsilylated organic extract by GC/MS and (ii) the crude extract by ESI-MS. Selective scanning modes, such as SIM or MRM, permit separate quantification of each chemical family (fatty acids, monoesters, monohydroxyesters, and diesters) and allow an improvement in sensitivity and selectivity, allowing the crude extract to be treated without further purification. GC/MS (SIM) was revealed to be a powerful method for the detection of components, with a detection limit down to a total lipid extract in the range of approximately 50 ng in a complex matix, such as archaeological degraded material, whereas ESI-MS/MS is instead used for the detection of nonvolatile biomarkers. Identification by GC/MS (SIM) and ESI-MS/ MS (MRM) of more than 50 biomarkers of beeswax in an Etruscan cup at the parts-per-million level provides the first evidence for the use of this material by the Etruscans as fuel or as a waterproof coating for ceramics.     

Microfluidics as an Enabling Technology for Personalized Cancer Therapy

Tailoring patient‐specific treatments for cancer is necessary in order to achieve optimal results but requires new diagnostic approaches at affordable prices. Microfluidics has immense potential to provide solutions for this, as it enables the processing of samples that are not available in large quantities (e.g., cells from patient biopsies), is cost efficient, provides a high level of automation, and allows the set‐up of complex models for cancer studies. In this review, individual solutions in the fields of genetics, circulating tumor cell monitoring, biomarker analysis, phenotypic drug sensitivity tests, and systems providing controlled environments for disease modeling are discussed. An overview on how these early stage achievements can be combined or developed further is showcased, and the required translational steps before microfluidics becomes a routine tool for clinical applications are critically discussed.     

Health status recovery at one year in children injured in a road accident: A cohort study

Despite the frequency of traumatic injuries due to road accidents and potential importance of identifying children at risk of impaired recovery one year after a road accident, there is a lack of data on long-term recovery of health status, except in children with severe traumatic brain injury. The aim of the present study was to evaluate predictive factors of recovery in children one year after road traffic injuries. The prospective cohort study was composed of children aged <16 years, admitted to public or private sector hospitals in the Rhône administrative area of France following a road accident. Recovery of health status one year after the accident and information concerning quality of life and the consequences of the accident for the child or family 1 year after the accident were collected by questionnaire, usually completed by the parents. Victims were in majority male (64.6%) and had mild or moderate injuries (81.9% with Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (M-AIS) <3). One year after the accident, 75.0% of the mild-to-moderate and 34.8% of the severe cases estimated health status as fully recovered. After adjustment, severity score (M-AIS ≥ 3) and lower limb injury (AIS > 1) were associated with incomplete recovery of health status: weighted odds ratio (OR_w), 4.3 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.3–14.6] and OR_w, 6.5 [95% CI, 1.9–21.7], respectively. Recovery status correlated significantly with quality of life physical scores (r = 0.46), especially body pain (r = 0.48) and role/social–physical (r = 0.50) and, to a lesser extent, quality of life psychosocial scores (r = 0.21). In a cohort of children injured in a road accident, those with high injury severity score and those with lower limb injuries are less likely to recover full health status by 1 year. Impaired health status was associated with a lower physical quality of life score at 1 year.     

Evidence of sequential lift in growth of aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube multilayers

We synthesized aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube multilayers by aerosol-assisted catalytic chemical vapor deposition through sequential injections of aerosols containing both carbon and catalyst precursors. Each sequence was traced by a specific duration or precursor mixture, with the carbon source being possibly enriched in (13)C isotope labels. We discovered that any sequence involved the growth of a new layer on the substrate surface, under any pre-existing one by lifting it up, giving definitive evidence of a base-growth mechanism.     

Predictive factors of chronic post-traumatic stress disorder 6 months after a road traffic accident

Background

This study sets out to identify risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a road traffic accident with a view to improving prevention.

Methods

The study used a prospective cohort of road traffic accident casualties. All subjects over 15 years of age were recruited in the course of an interview conducted while they were receiving care in a hospital of the Rhône area administrative département. Six months after their accident, they answered a self-administered postal questionnaire that included the Post-traumatic Check-List Scale (PCLS) in order to evaluate PTSD. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to compare those subjects with a PCLS score of 44 or over with those with a lower score, in order to identify factors that might be associated with PTSD.

Results

592 subjects (out of 1168) returned the 6-month questionnaire and 541 completed the PCLS test. One hundred subjects had a PCLS score ≥44, suggesting PTSD, and 441 subjects did not. The factors associated with PTSD were initial injury severity, post-traumatic amnesia, the feeling of not being responsible for their accident and persistent pain 6 months after it. A lower odds-ratio was associated with users of two-wheel than four-wheel motor vehicles (OR = 0.4; 0.2–0.9).

Conclusion

Besides predictive factors for PTSD (injury severity, post-traumatic amnesia and the feeling of not being responsible for their accident), our study suggested a reduced risk of PTSD among two-wheel motor vehicle users.     

Hemispheric Specialization in the Primary Auditory Area of Awake and Anesthetized Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).

Although evidence exists for a lateralization of song production, few studies have focused on the perceptual aspect of lateralization in songbirds. In the present study, the authors recorded neuronal responses to a variety of species-specific and artificial, nonspecific stimuli in both hemispheres of awake and anesthetized male starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). Recordings were made in the primary auditory area of the songbird brain, the Field L complex. The right hemisphere exhibited significantly more responsive units than the left hemisphere in awake birds, and this difference was significantly reduced in anesthetized birds. Furthermore, clear hemispheric specialization toward categories of behaviorally relevant stimuli and precise parameters of these stimuli were found. The main auditory area of the starling's brain thus appears to show some degree of lateralization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Looking at calcimimetics impact on hypercalcemia of immobilization: hypotheses and a case study

For the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (HPTH-II) in dialysis patients and hypercalcemia in patients with parathyroid carcinoma. Calcimimetics are a new class of drugs approved in the European Community and the United States by the Food and Drug Administration that were designed to suppress parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels with a simultaneous reduction in serum calcium and phosphorus levels, and calcium phosphorus product (Ca x P). Hypocalcemia is a frequent finding during the correction phase of the HPTH-II with calcimimetics. By contrast, the appearance of a hypercalcemia has yet to be described. In this paper, we report a case of severe hypercalcemia of immobilization in a 40-year-old hemodialyzed woman treated by cinacalcet HCl for a severe HPTH-II (PTH>1,000 pg/mL). A kidney transplantation recipient 1983 to 1995, she was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie Tooth disease in 1991. She had multiple orthopedic interventions for kidney-related osteoarticular problems probably favored by the kidney graft and the immunosuppressive treatment. While she was receiving the maximum dose of 180 mg/day of cinacalcet HCl and PTH at 443 pg/mL, she needed to be hospitalized for a right hip prothesis. Two weeks after the intervention she developed a symptomatic hypercalcemia of 3.57 mmol/L which was resistant to several measures including lowering the calcium concentration in the dialysate, withdrawing all vitamin D and calcium supplementation and the administration of calcitonin. Her serum calcium level was finally stabilized in the 2.37-2.95 mmol/L by administration of a single intravenous dose of pamidronate. This observation illustrates that the pharmacological activation of the parathyroid CaR and other putative CaR on bone cells by calcimimetics did not protect against the occurrence of hypercalcemia of immobilization favored by a severe HPTH-II in a hemodialysis patient.     

Design and optical characterization of a large continuous phase plate for Laser Integration Line and Laser Megajoule facilities

For development of the French Laser Integration Line and the Laser Megajoule, we describe the design and the control of a first 383 mm x 398 mm continuous phase-plate prototype. Extensively used in laser fusion facilities for beam smoothing, this optical component was manufactured by deep etching onto a fused-silica substrate, which led to a phase plate engraved directly onto fused silica, with which good optical performance could be achieved. We demonstrate good agreement between the desired simulated component and the manufactured component in terms of focal spot shape. This demonstration was performed by both interferometric and photometric measurements.     

Carbon nanotubes in macrophages: imaging and chemical analysis by X-ray fluorescence microscopy

X-ray fluorescence microscopy (microXRF) is applied for the first time to study macrophages exposed to unpurified and purified single-walled (SW) and multiwalled (MW) carbon nanotubes (CNT). Investigating chemical elemental distributions allows one to (i) image nanotube localization within a cell and (ii) detect chemical modification of the cell after CNT internalization. An excess of calcium is detected for cells exposed to unpurified SWCNT and MWCNT and related toxicological assays are discussed.