Endemic subcutaneous Dirofilaria repens filariasis in Southern France

BACKGROUND: Human dirofilariosis is endemic in southern France. The causal agent is Dirofilaria repens transmitted to man by mosquitos. The human organism is an accidental host while the dog is the reservoir. Approximately 60 cases have been reported in France, mainly in southern continental areas and Corsica. Most cases involve subcutaneous and occular manifestations. CASE REPORT: A 47-year old woman living in the Var department in southern france consulted for a subcutaneous nodule with the aspect of an epidermoid cyst. At incision, the nodule was found to contain a helminth found at parasite examination to be Dirofilaria repens. DISCUSSION: The prevalence of endemic subcutaneous dirofilariosis is probably underestimated as the clinical expression is non-specific and spontaneous cure is common. The diagnosis of epidermoid cyst is frequently suggested. History taking does not reveal travel to intertropical areas. The helminth is discovered when the nodule is opened, also providing successful cure.     

Groundwater contributions to surface water in the Assiniboine Delta Aquifer (ADA): A water quantity and quality perspective

In the Lake Winnipeg Basin (LWB), at both basin and regional scales, there are currently gaps regarding the significance of groundwater as a mediator of nutrient and contaminant fluxes to Lake Winnipeg. During 2018, surface water and groundwater samples were collected from various locations across the largest sand and gravel aquifer (Assiniboine Delta Aquifer [ADA]; 3800 km²) in the LWB as well as from surface water courses flowing above this aquifer. The samples collected during spring and fall were analyzed for anions and cations as well as for a series of isotopic and geochemical tracers (e.g. water isotopes, carbon 14, artificial sweeteners, pesticides, etc.). The results reveal that groundwater and the small watercourses flowing above the ADA have a similar chemical composition, which is in contrast with the chemical composition of the main watercourse flowing above the aquifer (Assiniboine River [AR]). When corroborated with stream discharge measurements this indicates that groundwater plays a significant role at local scale in controlling both the flow and the chemical composition of the AR tributaries. Nitrate showed low to non-detectable concentrations in both groundwater and surface water. With respect to groundwater, this could be related to the reducing conditions in the deeper aquifer in conjunction with relatively large groundwater travel times of up to 2400 years.     

Does fusion of domains from unrelated proteins affect their folding pathways and the structural changes involved in their function? A case study with the diphtheria toxin T domain

We investigated whether the structural and functional behaviorsof two unrelated protein domains were modified when fused. TheIgG-binding protein ZZ derived from staphylococcal protein Awas fused to the N- and/or C-terminus of the diphtheria toxintransmembrane domain (T). T undergoes a conformational changefrom a soluble native state at neutral pH to a molten globule-likestate at acidic pH, leading to its interaction with membranes.We found that this molten globule state was not connected tothe GdnHCl-induced unfolding pathway of T. The pH-induced transitionof T, and also the unfolding of T and ZZ at neutral and acidicpH, were unchanged whether the domains were isolated or fused.The position of ZZ, however, influenced the solubility of Tnear its pK_i. SPR measurements revealed that T has a high affinityfor membranes, isolated or within the fusion proteins (K_D<10^-11 M). This work shows that in the case of T and ZZ, thefusion of protein domains with different stabilities does notalter the structural changes involved in folding and function.This supports the use of T as a soluble membrane anchor.     

Operational semantics of a domain specific language for real time musician–computer interaction

With the advent and availability of powerful personal computing, the computer music research and industry have been focusing on real-time musical interactions between musicians and computers; delegating human-like actions to computers who interact with a musical environment. One common use-case of this kind is Automatic Accompaniment where the system is comprised of a real-time machine listening system that in reaction to recognition of events in a score from a human performer, launches necessary actions for the accompaniment section. While the real-time detection of score events out of live musicians’ performance has been widely addressed in the literature, score accompaniment (or the reactive part of the process) has been rarely discussed. This paper deals with this missing component in the literature from a formal language perspective. We show how language considerations would enable better authoring of time and interaction during programming/composing and how it addresses critical aspects of a musical performance (such as errors) in real-time. We sketch the real-time features required by automatic musical accompaniment seen as a reactive system. We formalize the timing strategies for musical events taking into account the various temporal scales used in music. Various strategies for the handling of synchronization constraints and the handling of errors are presented. We give a formal semantics to model the possible behaviors of the system in terms of Parametric Timed Automata.     

A decision-oriented model to evaluate the effect of land use and agricultural management on herbicide contamination in stream water

Modelling stream water pollution by herbicides in agricultural areas is a critical issue since numerous and incompletely known processes are involved. A decision-oriented model, SACADEAU-Transf, which represents water and pesticide transfer in medium-sized catchments (10–50 km²) is presented. This model aims at evaluating the effect of land use, agricultural practice and landscape on the contamination of stream water in rural catchments. The processes are represented in an easily understandable way with a moderate amount of information, producing semi-quantitative and spatialized outputs. Modelling focuses on the first few months after herbicide application when high levels of contamination are generally observed, by considering transfer through the catchment area via surface and subsurface flow. The surface flow, based on a tree plot network representation of the catchment, is controlled by soil-surface properties and saturated conditions. The subsurface flow based on Topmodel concepts is controlled by the topography. Herbicide transfer is coupled to water transfer by taking into account the main characteristics of the chemicals. The model simulates the daily water and herbicide outflow at the outlets of the farmers' fields as well as from the catchment. Preliminary results on maize herbicide transfer are presented for an agricultural catchment with an area of 17 km² located in north-western France. The relevance of SACADEAU-Transf model is discussed in view of the qualities required for the decision-oriented models developed for improving agro-environmental management.     

Modeling the short-circuit current density of polymer solar cells based on P3HT:PCBM blend

We have investigated the short-circuit current density of organic solar cells based on poly (3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT)/6,6-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blend. In order to model charge collection efficiencies with respect to short circuit density in such blends, a full optical modeling of the cell is performed. From the distribution of the electromagnetic field, we compute the rate of exciton generation. This exciton generation rate is used as input in the transport equations of holes and electrons. Charge densities at steady state are obtained as solutions are used for computing short-circuit current densities generated in the cell. The dependence of short-circuit current densities versus the thickness of the blend is analyzed and compared with our experimental data and with data extracted from the literature.     

Tyro3 Targeting as a Radiosensitizing Strategy in Bladder Cancer through Cell Cycle Dysregulation

Bladder cancer is a common cancer; it is the tenth most common cancer in the world. Around one fourth of all diagnosed patients have muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), characterized by advanced tumors and which remains a lethal disease. The standard treatment for MIBC is the bladder removal by surgery. However, bladder-preserving alternatives are emerging by combining chemotherapy, radiotherapy and minimal surgery, aiming to increase the patient’s quality of life. The aim of the study was to improve these treatments by investigating a novel approach where in addition to radiotherapy, a receptor, TYRO3, a member of TAM receptor tyrosine kinase family known to be highly expressed on the bladder cancer cells and involved in the control of cell survival is targeted. For this, we evaluated the influence of TYRO3 expression levels on a colony or cell survival assays, DNA damage, γH2AX foci formation, gene expression profiling and cell cycle regulation, after radiation on different bladder cell models. We found that TYRO3 expression impacts the radiation response via the cell cycle dysregulation with noeffets on the DNA repair. Therefore, targeting TYRO3 is a promising sensitization marker that could be clinically employed in future treatments.     

Types and Functions of Mitoribosome-Specific Ribosomal Proteins across Eukaryotes

Mitochondria are key organelles that combine features inherited from their bacterial endosymbiotic ancestor with traits that arose during eukaryote evolution. These energy producing organelles have retained a genome and fully functional gene expression machineries including specific ribosomes. Recent advances in cryo-electron microscopy have enabled the characterization of a fast-growing number of the low abundant membrane-bound mitochondrial ribosomes. Surprisingly, mitoribosomes were found to be extremely diverse both in terms of structure and composition. Still, all of them drastically increased their number of ribosomal proteins. Interestingly, among the more than 130 novel ribosomal proteins identified to date in mitochondria, most of them are composed of a-helices. Many of them belong to the nuclear encoded super family of helical repeat proteins. Here we review the diversity of functions and the mode of action held by the novel mitoribosome proteins and discuss why these proteins that share similar helical folds were independently recruited by mitoribosomes during evolution in independent eukaryote clades.     

Labeled TEMPO-Oxidized Mannan Differentiates Binding Profiles within the Collectin Families

Establishing the rapid and accurate diagnosis of sepsis is a key component to the improvement of clinical outcomes. The ability of analytical platforms to rapidly detect pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMP) in blood could provide a powerful host-independent biomarker of sepsis. A novel concept was investigated based on the idea that a pre-bound and fluorescent ligand could be released from lectins in contact with high-affinity ligands (such as PAMPs). To create fluorescent ligands with precise avidity, the kinetically followed TEMPO oxidation of yeast mannan and carbodiimide coupling were used. The chemical modifications led to decreases in avidity between mannan and human collectins, such as the mannan-binding lectin (MBL) and human surfactant protein D (SP-D), but not in porcine SP-D. Despite this effect, these fluorescent derivatives were captured by human lectins using highly concentrated solutions. The resulting fluorescent beads were exposed to different solutions, and the results showed that displacements occur in contact with higher affinity ligands, proving that two-stage competition processes can occur in collectin carbohydrate recognition mechanisms. Moreover, the fluorescence loss depends on the discrepancy between the respective avidities of the recognized ligand and the fluorescent mannan. Chemically modulated fluorescent ligands associated with a diversity of collectins may lead to the creation of diagnostic tools suitable for multiplex array assays and the identification of high-avidity ligands.