Survey of 1012 moldy dwellings by culture fungal analysis: Threshold proposal for asthmatic patient management

Different countries have tried to define guidelines to quantify what levels of fungi are considered as inappropriate for housing. This retrospective study analyzes indoor fungi by cultures of airborne samples from 1012 dwellings. Altogether, 908 patients suffering from rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and asthma were compared to 104 controls free of allergies. Portuguese decree law no 118/2013 (PDL118), ANSES (a French environmental and health agency) recommendations, and health regulations of Besançon University Hospital were applied to determine the rates of non‐conforming dwellings, which were respectively 55.2%, 5.2%, and 19%. Environmental microbiological results and medical data were compared. The whole number of colonies per cubic meter of air was correlated with asthma (P < 0.001) and rhinitis (P = 0.002). Sixty‐seven genera and species were detected in bedrooms. Asthma was correlated to Aspergillus versicolor (P = 0.004) and Cladosporium spp. (P = 0.02). Thresholds of 300 cfu/m³ for A. versicolor or 495 cfu/m³ for Cladosporium spp. are able to discriminate 90% of the asthmatic dwellings. We propose a new protocol to obtain an optimal cost for indoor fungi surveys, excluding surface analyses, and a new guideline to interpret the results based on >1000 cfu/m³ of whole colonies and/or above threshold levels for A. versicolor or Cladosporium spp.     

Ambidextrous strategy and execution in entrepreneurial project-oriented organizations: The case of Pagani supercars

This research explores the dynamics underpinning entrepreneurial project-oriented organizations. Specifically, it focuses on how strategy and execution by projects are managed and how ambidexterity – a firm's ability to exploit old certainties while exploring new possibilities – operates as a logic. The empirical findings from an explorative longitudinal research of supercar maker Pagani Automobili in the period 2007–2019, offer an insight of a complex entrepreneurially led project-oriented organization and suggest three integrative mechanisms that describe the ambidextrous management of the interplay within and between strategy and project levels. Additionally, this research recognizes the critical role of projects also in entrepreneurial environments and suggests that the accomplishment of ambidexterity is unique in nature as it is aimed at reconciling the uniqueness of competitive propositions and that of projects within a unique entrepreneurial environment, opening avenues for more theoretical and empirical studies at the intersection of project management and entrepreneurship.     

Capture of carbon dioxide by an ion-exchange resin: Influence of gas humidity on capture mechanisms

This paper evaluates moisture content effects on CO₂ capture of an ion-exchange resin (IER) functionalised with a primary amine group. IER capacities were determined by breakthrough with an inlet gas containing 10 vol% CO₂, nitrogen and various moisture contents. Three types of behaviour were identified according to humidity level. In saturated air conditions, the stoichiometry could be justified by carbonates and bicarbonates fixation. In dry conditions, we suspect a joint physical adsorption and reaction mechanism. For intermediate humidity, the stoichiometry of 1 CO₂ for 1 amine group is consistent with a bicarbonate fixation or carbamic acid formation.     

Planning Belgian Congo’s network of medical infrastructure: type-plans as tools to construct a medical model-colony, 1949–1959

ABSTRACT

Throughout the 1950s, the Belgian colonial government constructed a vast network of hospital infrastructure as part of its Ten-Year Plan, a colony-wide socio-economic scheme emblematic for the era of ‘welfare colonialism.’ This network played a key role in Belgian colonialism, by providing healthcare, but also by boosting labour productivity, facilitating state presence and control, and by advertising Congo as a medical model-colony. In this article, we unpack the extensive administrative apparatus that was necessary to buttress this ambitious building programme, and we highlight type-plans as crucial government tools to construct such a vast network of healthcare infrastructure. At first glance, the use of type-plans confirms classic characterizations of the Belgian colonial government as an omnipotent and technocratic state apparatus that implemented large, top-down government plans through authoritative methods, often discarding local realities. However, tracing hospital construction on the ground reveals that type-plans did not function as immutable models, but rather as modular blueprints that allowed local administrations to adapt hospitals to local needs and contingencies. As such, our article illustrates how, facilitated by surprisingly flexible type-plans, everyday colonial policymaking in Belgian Congo was, contrary to the still dominant discourse, deeply reliant on the agency and aptitude of local officials.     

Acute Generalized Exanthematous Pustulosis: Pathogenesis,Genetic Background,Clinical Variants and Therapy

Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP) is a severe, usually drug-related reaction, characterized by an acute onset of mainly small non-follicular pustules on an erythematous base and spontaneous resolution usually within two weeks. Systemic involvement occurs in about 20% of cases. The course is mostly benign, and only in rare cases complications lead to life-threatening situations. Recent studies highlight the importance of genetic variations in interleukin-36 receptor antagonist gene (IL-36RN) in the pathogenesis of this disease. The physiopathology of AGEP remains unclear, but an involvement of innate and acquired immune cells together with resident cells (keratinocytes), which recruit and activate neutrophils via production of cytokines/chemokines such as IL-17, IL-36, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 8 (CXCL8)/IL-8, has been postulated. Treatment is based on the removal of the causative drug, supportive care, infection prevention and use of potent topical or systemic steroids.     

Mapping and Characterization of HCMV-Specific Unconventional HLA-E-Restricted CD8 T Cell Populations and Associated NK and T Cell Responses Using HLA/Peptide Tetramers and Spectral Flow Cytometry

HCMV drives complex and multiple cellular immune responses, which causes a persistent immune imprint in hosts. This study aimed to achieve both a quantitative determination of the frequency for various anti-HCMV immune cell subsets, including CD8 T, γδT, NK cells, and a qualitative analysis of their phenotype. To map the various anti-HCMV cellular responses, we used a combination of three HLA_peptide tetramer complexes (HLA-E_VMAPRTLIL, HLA-E_VMAPRSLLL, and HLA-A2_NLVPMVATV) and antibodies for 18 surface markers (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD16, CD19, CD45RA, CD56, CD57, CD158, NKG2A, NKG2C, CCR7, TCRγδ, TCRγδ2, CX3CR1, KLRG1, 2B4, and PD-1) in a 20-color spectral flow cytometry analysis. This immunostaining protocol was applied to PBMCs isolated from HCMV⁻ and HCMV⁺ individuals. Our workflow allows the efficient determination of events featuring HCMV infection such as CD4/CD8 ratio, CD8 inflation and differentiation, HCMV peptide-specific HLA-E_UL40 and HLA-A2_pp65CD8 T cells, and expansion of γδT and NK subsets including δ2⁻γT and memory-like NKG2C⁺CD57⁺ NK cells. Each subset can be further characterized by the expression of 2B4, PD-1, KLRG1, CD45RA, CCR7, CD158, and NKG2A to achieve a fine-tuned mapping of HCMV immune responses. This assay should be useful for the analysis and monitoring of T-and NK cell responses to HCMV infection or vaccines.     

Metabolic Syndrome: Updates on Pathophysiology and Management in 2021

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) forms a cluster of metabolic dysregulations including insulin resistance, atherogenic dyslipidemia, central obesity, and hypertension. The pathogenesis of MetS encompasses multiple genetic and acquired entities that fall under the umbrella of insulin resistance and chronic low-grade inflammation. If left untreated, MetS is significantly associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Given that CVDs constitute by far the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, it has become essential to investigate the role played by MetS in this context to reduce the heavy burden of the disease. As such, and while MetS relatively constitutes a novel clinical entity, the extent of research about the disease has been exponentially growing in the past few decades. However, many aspects of this clinical entity are still not completely understood, and many questions remain unanswered to date. In this review, we provide a historical background and highlight the epidemiology of MetS. We also discuss the current and latest knowledge about the histopathology and pathophysiology of the disease. Finally, we summarize the most recent updates about the management and the prevention of this clinical syndrome.     

The mixing effect on the free radical MMA solution polymerization

Mathematical models of reactors for the polymerization of methylmethacrylate (MMA) have been developed and analyzed to elucidate reactor dynamics and to determine conditions for improved operation. The effects of mixing and heat transfer in an MMA polymerization reactor system have been explored by the development of an imperfect mixing model. To model imperfect mixing in polymerization, a reactor configuration using two tanks in parallel was used. Bifurcation diagrams developed using numerical analysis of the model have been drawn with two variable parameters, an exchange ratio, σ, and a volume ratio, κ. We use feed and coolant temperatures as bifurcation parameters. If variable parameters are small, the lower solution branch of the steady state solutions is quite different from that of a simple model that assumes perfect macro-mixing as bifurcation parameters change. If σ increases (κ=0.1, σ=1.0), the shape of a steady state solution curve differs significantly from that of a simple model as the feed temperature decreases.