Scientific Publications

Michiel Postema
Satyajit Phadke
Anthony Novell
Rustem Uzbekov
Cuthbert Nyamupangedengu
Meriem Anouti
Ayache Bouakaz
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The recycling of lithium ion batteries has been mentioned as one of the near-future waste management necessities. In order for recycling to be economically viable, straightforward and cost effective techniques need to be developed to separate the individual materials in a composite electrode. Ultrasonic separation might be such a technique, provided that lithium ion battery microparticles respond predictably to a sound field. Lithium ion battery cathodes contain hydrophobic carbon. Owing to the incompressibility of a solid, the thin gaseous layer surrounding these hydrophobic particles must oscillate asymmetrically, when subjected to ultrasound. Consequently, the harmonic content of the ultrasound signal radiated from hydrophobic microparticles must be higher than that from hydrophilic microparticles with the same size. The question of whether the harmonic signal response generated by physical hydrophobic microparticles present in lithium ion battery cathodes is higher than the harmonic response of other component materials in the cathode is the focus of this paper. The scattering response of cathode materials subjected to 1-MHz ultrasound was measured and compared. The cathode materials C65, PVDF, and NMC respond differently to 1-MHz ultrasound. The superharmonic response of C65 has been attributed to asymmetric oscillations owing to its hydrophobicity. In addition, C65 hydrophobic microparticles might be suitable candidates for harmonic imaging.

Kevin Janot
Guillaume Charbonnier
Fakhreddine Boustia
Igor Lima Maldonado
Richard Bibi
Julien Pucheux
Denis Herbreteau
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L’accident vasculaire cérébral (AVC) est la première cause de handicap acquis de l’adulte, la deuxième cause de démence et la troisième cause de mortalité en France. Parmi les AVC, 89 % sont ischémiques. Le vieillissement de la population laisse présager une augmentation du nombre de patients victimes d’AVC dans les années à venir.

La prévention des infarctus cérébraux est un enjeu important de la prise en charge des AVC compte tenu du risque élevé de récidive. Après un premier infarctus cérébral, le risque de récidive est estimé à 10 % la première année et entre 20 et 30 % à 5 ans. La survenue d’un AVC est favorisée par des facteurs de risque cardiovasculaire connus et accessibles à la prévention. Le contrôle des facteurs de risque comme l’hypertension artérielle (HTA), le diabète, la dyslipidémie et le tabac est indispensable en cas d’AVC d’origine athéromateuse ou de suspicion de pathologie athéroscléreuse sous-jacente. Lorsque la cause d’un infarctus cérébral ou d’un accident ischémique transitoire (AIT) est connue, le traitement spécifique de l’étiologie est un élément indispensable à la prévention secondaire.

Javad Alizadeh
Shahla Shojaei
Simone da Silva Rosa
Adel Rezaei Moghadam
Amir Zeki
Mohammad Hashemi
Marek Los
Joseph Gordon
Saeid Ghavami
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The Rho GTPase family belongs to the Ras superfamily and includes approximately 20 members in humans. Rho GTPases are important in the regulation of diverse cellular functions, including cytoskeletal dynamics, cell motility, cell polarity, axonal guidance, vesicular trafficking, and cell cycle control. Changes in Rho GTPase signaling play an essential regulatory role in many pathological conditions, such as cancer, central nervous system diseases, and immune system-dependent diseases. The posttranslational modification of Rho GTPases (i.e., prenylation by mevalonate pathway intermediates) and GTP binding are key factors which affect the activation of this protein. In this paper, two essential and simple methods are provided to detect a broad range of Rho GTPase prenylation and GTP binding activities. Details of the technical procedures that have been used are explained step by step in this manuscript.

Amanda Ardain
William G. C. Horsnell
Racquel Domingo-Gonzalez
Shibali Das
Samuel Kazer
Nicole Howard
Alveera Singh
Mushtaq Ahmed
Shepherd Nhamoyebonde
Javier Rangel-Moreno
Paul Ogongo
Lan Lu
Duran Ramsuran
Maria de la Luz Garcia-Hernandez
Tyler K. Ulland
Matthew Darby
Eugene Park
Farina Karim
Laura Melocchi
Rajhmun Madansein
Kaylesh Jay Dullabh
Micah Dunlap
Nancy Marin-Agudelo
Takashi Ebihara
Thumbi Ndung’u
Deepak Kaushal
Alexander Pym
Jay Kolls
Adrie Steyn
Joaquín Zúñiga
Wayne Yokoyama
Alex Shalek
Henrik Kløverpris
Marco Colonna
Alasdair Leslie
Shabaana Khader
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Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death by an infectious disease worldwide1. However, the involvement of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) in immune responses to infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is unknown. Here we show that circulating subsets of ILCs are depleted from the blood of participants with pulmonary tuberculosis and restored upon treatment. Tuberculosis increased accumulation of ILC subsets in the human lung, coinciding with a robust transcriptional response to infection, including a role in orchestrating the recruitment of immune subsets. Using mouse models, we show that group 3 ILCs (ILC3s) accumulated rapidly in Mtb-infected lungs and coincided with the accumulation of alveolar macrophages. Notably, mice that lacked ILC3s exhibited a reduction in the accumulation of early alveolar macrophages and decreased Mtb control. We show that the C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 5 (CXCR5)–C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13) axis is involved in Mtb control, as infection upregulates CXCR5 on circulating ILC3s and increases plasma levels of its ligand, CXCL13, in humans. Moreover, interleukin-23-dependent expansion of ILC3s in mice and production of interleukin-17 and interleukin-22 were found to be critical inducers of lung CXCL13, early innate immunity and the formation of protective lymphoid follicles within granulomas. Thus, we demonstrate an early protective role for ILC3s in immunity to Mtb infection.

Florian Mayer
Sriram Tiruvadi Krishnan
Daniel T Schühle
Svetlana V Eliseeva
Stéphane Petoud
Éva Tóth
Kristina Djanashvili
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Self-aggregating calix[4]arenes carrying four DOTA ligands on the upper rim for stable complexation of paramagnetic Gd III-ions have already been proposed as MRI probes. In this work, we investigate the luminescence properties of Tb III-DOTA-calix[4]arene-4OPr containing four propyl-groups and compare them with those of the analog substituted with a phthalimide chromophore (Tb III-DOTA-calix[4]arene-3OPr-OPhth). We show that, given its four aromatic rings, the calix[4]arene core acts as an effective sensitizer of Tb-centered luminescence. Substituents on the lower rim can modulate the aggregation behavior, which in turn determines the luminescence properties of the compounds. In solid state, the quantum yield of the phthalimide derivative is almost three times as high as that of the propyl-functionalized analog demonstrating a beneficial role of the chromophore on Tb-luminescence. In solution, however, the effect of the phthalimide group vanishes, which we attribute to the large distance between the chromophore and the lanthanide, situated on the opposite rims of the calix[4]arene. Both quantum yields and luminescence lifetimes show clear concentration dependence in solution, related to the strong impact of aggregation on the luminescence behavior. We also evidence the variability in the values of the critical micelle concentration depending on the experimental technique. Such luminescent calix[4]arene platforms accommodating stable lanthanide complexes can be considered valuable building blocks for the design of dual MR/optical imaging probes.

Maria Clotilde Camboni
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This paper suggests a new interpretation of the tale of Lisabetta da Messina (Decameron IV 5) in the light of a fact which has thus far been disregarded by scholars: namely, that in both medieval culture, and its basis in Roman law, an individual cannot have more than one grave. In case of dismemberment, the burial place is considered to be the place where the head is interred. Therefore, the pot of basil in Boccaccio's tale is Lorenzo's tomb, and Lisabetta beheads her dead lover in order to be able to perform suitable funeral rites. Taking this into account, her behaviour as well as other aspects of the tale take on new meaning.

Massimiliano Traversino Di Cristo
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In more general terms, many mediaeval authors-and not only theologians used the distinction between God's ordered and absolute power (potentia Dei absoluta and ordinata) to emphasize how, on the one hand, in an 'orderly' way, the realm of nature reflects God's freedom of choice, leading to the existence of a radically contingent order of creation; but also how, on the other hand, in terms of divine absoluteness and in the economy of salvation, God is never bound in his action, which is truly inscrutable and lies above morality. 1 The extensive scholarship on this distinction clearly demonstrates how such a question represented a real 'problem' for mediaeval thinkers rather than just a simple theory. 2 I am limited to mentioning here that the doctrine of God's power comes to the fore with a much different significance in various historical epochs.

Danuta Kalemba
Agnieszka Synowiec
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This review article discusses the active constituents and potential of two menthol mint oils, Mentha piperita (MPEO) and Mentha arvensis (MAEO), as natural sources for botanical pesticides. The biological activities of these menthol mint oils, which can be useful in agriculture, have been broadly researched, especially toward phytotoxic microorganisms. To a lesser extent, the insecticidal and herbicidal activities of mint EOs have also been studied. It is apparent that the prospect of using menthol mint oils in agriculture is increasing in popularity. A number of investigations showed that the in vitro efficacy of MPEO and MAEO, as well as that of their main constituent, menthol, is pronounced. The results of in vitro research are useful for choosing EOs for further investigations. However, it is clear that in situ experiments are crucial and should be more extensively developed. At the same time, known techniques are to be applied to this area and new methods should be worked out, aiming at the improvement of EOs’ pesticidal efficacy and cost-effectiveness, for future implementation in agricultural pest control.

Manuela Simoni
Daniele Santi
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Follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) has been used in inconclusive clinical trials for male idiopathic infertility in the past. FSH is sometimes prescribed empirically for male idiopathic infertility, showing some improvement in sperm parameters in about half of the patients. In this opinion article, we briefly analyze the pathophysiological evidences in favor of a more aggressive approach in planning future studies on pharmacological FSH use in male infertility, in analogy with the FSH use for multiple follicular growth in women undergoing ovarian stimulation for assisted reproduction. There is sufficient evidence that spermatogenesis does not run at its top in the primate and that some extra FSH can stimulate spermatogenesis over its baseline. Existing data suggest that the pharmacological regimens applied so far were insufficient, both in dosage and in duration, to elicit this response in about half of the patients. A paradigm change is needed now: We should move away from the classical, endocrinological approach, which simply applied the substitutive, therapeutic regimen used in hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, toward testing a ‘testicular hyperstimulation’ scheme for a time sufficient to cover more than only one spermatogenic cycle, a concept to be verified in an appropriately controlled, prospective, randomized clinical trial.