Amebicide activity of antiseptics and an antibiotic on 2 Acanthamoeba isolated from corneal ulcers

PURPOSE: To study the in vitro amoebicidal activity of antiseptics and antibiotics. METHODS: Antiseptics (hexamidine, chlorhexidine, picloxydine, PHMB, polyvidone iodine) and an antibiotic (colimycine) were tested on two Acanthamoeba isolates from corneal ulcers under soft contact lenses. The appearence of trophozo?ts and the increase of the number of cysts show their viability. RESULTS: Four antiseptics and colimycin proved to be active in vitro on the two Acanthamoeba isolates: hexamidin 0.1% after 3 to 6 hours incubation, picloxydin 0.05% after 1 to 3 hours incubation (Wilcoxon test, p < 0.05), chlorhexidin 0.02% after 3 hours (Wilcoxon test, p < 0.01), PHBM 0.02% after 3 hours (Wilcoxon test, p < 0.01) and colimycin 125,000 Ul/ml after 1 to 3 hours incubation. Polyvidone iodine proved ineffective. CONCLUSION: Our results confirm that hexamidin, chlorhexidin and PHMB have an amoebicidal activity on the two stains, and show that colimycine, which has already been tested, has also an amoebicidal activity; picloxydine is effective after 1 to 3 hours; there is a considerable variability which exists between the isolates and the sensitivity of the isolates is time-dependent. Medical polytherapy is therefore necessary especially if the sensitivity of the Acanthamoeba has not been tested.     

MACBETH — An Interactive Path Towards the Construction of Cardinal Value Functions

The application of classical models and techniques for cardinal measurement of values usually requires a person (D) to answer very difficult questions. The MACBETH approach, presented in this paper, proposes a simple questioning procedure to 'drive' the interactive quantification of values through pairwise verbal judgements of difference of attractiveness between valuable elements of a set A. Technically, MACBETH uses a chain of four linear programs for assigning numbers to the elements of set A based upon the qualitative judgements expressed by D and to reveal possible sources of incoherence. In practice, this information is to be used as a basis for discussion and learning. MACBETH stands for Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation TecHnique.     

Development of process-centered IPSEs in the ALF project

In this article we describe the main results of the ESPRIT project ALF (in French: Accueil de Logiciel Futur or Advanced Software Engineering Environments' Logistics Framework). In ALF we have developed a framework for Integrated Programming Support Environments (IPSEs), a software process modeling language (based on the notion of Models of Assisted Software Processes (MASP)), and an environment used to develop software process models. A MASP describes a software development method. This method specifies how an IPSE should behave. It can be plugged into the framework for IPSEs. Moreover, a MASP is used to integrate tools into the IPSE framework. In this article we focus on assistance and guidance facilities for software developers implemented in the framework for IPSEs.     

Prise de décision dans un groupe de familles québécoises.

Both spouses in 60 francophone families were asked, in 20 situations, who usually made the decisions. This methodology reflects a spouse's perception of conjugal power. Data show that an egalitarian pattern of decision was present in most families and that the decision power of women was much greater than that of men. Results point to an evolution of the québécois family, which seems to have freed itself from the traditional patriarchal authority. (English abstract) (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Proprietes electriques et magnetiques des ferrites oxydes La1−xSrxFeO3−y

The study of electrical and magnetic properties of oxidized ferrites La_1?xSr_xFeO_3?y (0 ? x ?1) has shown that iron is likely in a low spin state. Moreover, it appears from the Seebeck coefficient vs composition measurements that the conduction occurs essentially over the octahedral sites, but that the oxygen vacancies trap partially electrons around iron (+III) in tetrahedral sites. A conduction model is proposed.     

Mesure de la réponse impulsionnelle d’un milieu de transmission: application aux fibres optiques

The impulse response of multimode optical fibres is experimentally found using a time-domain measurement method whose basic performances are significantly improved by implementing an optimal and automatic deconvolution technique. A likelihood criterium is applied to the impulse response allowing the information to be extracted from the noise (constrained regression). The impulse response carries all the usefull information since its Fourier transform is the complex transfer function (amplitude and phase). Some experimental results are presented in order to illustrate this new method.     

Brass sulphidation by hydrogen sulphide and sulphur vapour at low pressure: Morphological and kinetic aspects

The effect of alloy composition on the sulphidation of brass in H₂S/H₂ mixtures and sulphur vapour is shown. In all cases the corrosion rate is determined by cationic diffusion through one of the sulphide layers formed. The different morphologies observed at the end of sulphidation are explained on the basis of zinc content of the alloys.     

Sur les proprietes magnetiques du fluorure KxVF3β (0,45 ⩽ x ⩽ 0,55)

The magnetic properties of β-K_xVF₃ (0,45 ≤ x ≤ 0,55), have been investigated.At high temperature (T > 150 K), the molar susceptibility follows a Curie-Weiss law. The experimental values of the Curie constant and of the effective moment are in good agreement with the calculated values. The paramagnetic Curie temperatures are negative and involve preponderant antiferromagnetic interactions. At low temperature a strong ferromagnetic component appears (T < 58 K); its origin is discussed and several hypotheses are proposed.     

Structure of colloidal particles in water oil mixtures stabilized by polymeric emulsifiers: 1. Phase diagrams and electron microscope studies

The phase diagrams of toluene/water mixtures, stabilized by amphiphilic graft copolymers in the presence of an alcohol, show two domains in which these systems are optically clear. The composition of the continuous phase of the polymeric microemulsions was determined by dialysis experiments. The results indicate a preferential solvation of the copolymer sequences by the ternary solvent mixture. The micellar particles were observed by electron microscopy on carbon replicas of freeze-fractured samples. Depending on the copolymer composition and the location of the system in the phase diagram, the micrographs reveal either individual particles ($\text{50}\text{A}\text{?}\text{<}\text{radius}\text{< 250}\text{A}\text{?}$), well-dispersed in the continuous medium, or inter-particle clusters.