LE STUDIUM Multidisciplinary Journal
Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is the highly effective standard of care for acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion. However, up to 50% of patients experience "futile recanalization," where successful macrovascular recanalization does not translate into functional recovery. To assess the reperfusion status of treated patients the implementation of a functional FP-CTP acquisition and post-processing was established in order to evaluate patients’ reperfusion status directly in the operating room. Within the scope of a multi-center project using this processing, we were able to show that perfusion imaging can distinguish different reperfusion phenotypes in treated patients, which can be used to stratify patients for further interventional or medical treatments in the acute stroke phase. We were able to show that acute acquisition is feasible, an immediately available post-processing algorithm can provide perfusion maps comparable to standard perfusion modalities and that these maps help to define the reperfusion status of patients in more detail than standard techniques.
Plants are exposed to multiple stressors simultaneously, but can receive help deterring biotic stressors from belowground mutualists such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Previous research has identified that this “help” occurs primarily via enhanced direct defences against chewing herbivores. However, our preliminary data had suggested that AM fungi promote indirect defenses against sucking herbivores like aphids. Here we tested this premise in tomato. We exposed plants to colonization by AM fungi or not, and herbivory by potato aphids or not. We then measured plant biomass as well as changes in volatile organic chemistry over time, and attraction to plants within our treatments by parasitoids in wind tunnel trials. While analyses are ongoing, we found an influence of AM fungi on plant biomass and a trend toward greater attraction of parasitoids to plants hosting AM fungi. Surprisingly we found no impact of aphid herbivores on the attraction of their parasitoids, and no interaction between AM fungi and aphid herbivory on parasitoid attraction. This suggests that AM fungi do, as we hypothesized, promote indirect defences of plants.
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The project aims to contribute to the improvement of methods for determining key properties in the evolution of gas and liquid corrosion of refractory products. In particular, the project proposes to develop in-lab methods to measure transport properties at high temperature, specifically, the intrinsic permeability and the capillary suction properties, which are not available in the present time. As the first step, a deeper comprehension of the factors controlling the materials’ transport properties at room temperature, such as the porosity characteristics, are required in order to advance to the adaptation of the methodologies for measuring the properties under high temperature conditions. The tasks carried out during the staying at CEMHTI were aligned with the original plan and will continue during the following months to achieve the proposed aims. Non-commercial as-received and heat-treated MgO-C refractories, previously studied at INTEMA, were tested. On the other hand, the high temperature properties of molten steelmaking slags were measured using the aerodynamic levitation technique. In addition, a new thermodynamic simulation model to study the graphite oxidation of oxide-C refractories was also developed and applied. |
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Achieving the European Green Deal objectives and global net-zero targets requires rapid decarbonization of the transport sector, which remains a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. While electrification is expanding, long vehicle lifecycles and infrastructure limitations necessitate complementary low-carbon solutions that can be integrated into existing engine platforms. Ammonia (NH₃) is emerging as a strategic zero-carbon energy carrier because it contains no carbon, can be produced from renewable electricity, and benefits from established global storage and distribution infrastructure. However, its slow ignition and poor combustion reactivity limit direct application in internal combustion engines. This research evaluates the use of small quantities of dimethyl ether (DME) as an ignition promoter to enable stable and efficient ammonia combustion under multiple operating modes. The results demonstrate that minimal DME addition significantly enhances ignition reliability, combustion stability, and efficiency while maintaining low carbon emissions. By enabling the use of ammonia in existing engine technologies, this work supports near-term emission reduction strategies, strengthens energy security by reducing fossil fuel dependence, and contributes to Indo-French scientific collaboration aligned with European climate and innovation policies. |
Self-assembly of polymer materials provides a cost-effective route to preparation of materials with well-defined nanostructures (1-100 nm). Due to their ability to self-assemble, block copolymers are a particularly useful and important class of materials utilized in a wide range of applications including photonic crystals, ion conducting membranes, microfluidics, drug delivery, sensors, and nanoporous membranes, and templates for the organization of nanodots and nanowires. However, relationships between block copolymer chemistry, architecture, and thermodynamics are critical for understanding self-assembly behavior towards designing materials with target properties. This research investigated the impact of incorporation of a gradient copolymer within the block copolymer architecture for enabling additional control over self-assembly behavior in polymer thin films and how these polymer thin films can be leveraged to fabricate porous thin polymer films. Block and and block-gradient copolymers were synthesized with controlled molecular size and gradient structure and their thin film structures evaluated using atomic force microscopy towards understanding relationships between the macromolecular structure and formed morphologies in thin films.
Originally created in the Tsarist Empire, the Yiddish-language company the Vilna Troupe received international recognition due to its large national appeal to worldwide Jewish (especially Yiddish-speaking) communities and to its innovative performances for the non-Jewish audience. Aside from its strong ideological impact for the Jewish public, the company suceeded in transferring cultural trends and theatrical practices across Europe, becoming an international brand and a facilitator of crosscultural cooperation. While the importance of the company for the history of Yiddish theatre and for the Jewish cultural life in general has been recently documented (I. Bercovici, D. Caplan, A. Chiriac, Camelia Crăciun, N. Underwood), the impact of the Vilna Troupe beyond the Jewish community has been neglected, despite being remarkable. Therefore, my research focused on the impact that the Vilna Troupe had on the non-Jewish audience across Europe in terms of cultural transfer and political reception using mainly the mainstream press (but also archival sources and memoirs).
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Brazil contains a large part of the world's biodiversity (around 15 to 20%) and medicinal plants fall into this percentage. In addition to the fact that the country is an important food producer, in this way, cultivated plants or those naturally present in Brazilian flora is responsible for the production of raw materials for the development of foods, cosmetics, medicinal plants and other medicines. This biodiversity, combined with the rich ethnic and cultural diversity, holds the traditional knowledge associated with the use of these plants. This is why the High Pressure Technology and Natural Products Laboratory (LTAPPN) of the University of São Paulo is developing research aimed at developing green technologies, optimizing processes and increasing the scale of extract production rich in active compounds and free from toxic residues of organic solvent origin. Although the rich biodiversity and traditional knowledge are a necessary potential to develop research with technologies, the study of the composition of these extracts is fundamental for their applications. |
In this way, the research interaction with the ICOA (Institute of Organic and Analytical Chemistry) of the University of Orleans emerges with a strong desire to develop common projects, with great attraction for internationalization, in and allow consolidation of existing search links. The aim of the research development period at ICOA is to identify active compounds in vegetable oils and insect oils with strong appeal to the cosmetic industry.
Larix decidua, the European larch, is an excellent model to evaluate the association between genetic and phenotypic variation with environmental gradients in forest species. In the present work we evaluated the genetic variation of neutral and selective SNP markers together with the variation of eight quantitative traits along an altitudinal gradient in a natural population of this species located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region (France). Four samples of about 200 trees each were obtained respectively from plots situated at 1350, 1700, 2000, and 2300 m above sea level. In each sampled individual four tree ring variables and four plasticity variables were evaluated. The molecular dataset consisted of the individual patterns of 46388 SNP loci. The joint analysis of molecular and quantitative trait data allowed evaluating population structure, detecting presumptively selective loci, and demonstrating the adaptive significance of the quantitative variables considered.
The environmental monitoring and its efficient management highly dependent upon the integration of heterogeneous data sources, followed by advanced numerical approaches and artificial intelligence techniques. In alignment with the objectives of JUNON programme, this fellowship focused on design and development of operational Digital Twin (DT) for environmental monitoring dedicated to groundwater and air quality systems. The aim of this project is to propose a Digital Twin architecture which is capable of integrating diverse data from in-situ sensors, satellite observations, physics-based and data driven models and to map them in web platform. The proposed system allows historical visualization, prediction, forecasting, 2d spatial mapping, and model-oriented simulation through services and ensures extensibility and long-term maintainability. A major contribution of the fellowship was consolidation and extension of an initial Digital Twin architecture into fully functional web application, incorporates data manager, scheduler for periodic updates, modeling services and user-friendly web interface. The proposed architecture was validates using real-world data across Centre-Val de Loire region, demonstrating its capability to handle heterogeneous temporal and spatial resolutions, and data quality constraints. Along with the technical development, this fellowship also contributed towards methodological design for hybrid modeling policies, operational robustness, and Digital Twins role for natural resource management. The outcome of this work offers a solid foundation for future research publications, technology transfer, and continued collaboration within the JUNON programme.
Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormones (LH), the gonadotropins are the regulators of follicle growth, ovulation, and oocyte maturation. An imbalance in their levels or activity is known to cause subfertility or infertility, especially in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). In many of these women, LH levels are high along with untimely LH receptor (LHR) expression in granulosa cells in the follicular phase of menstrual cycles. Here, we demonstrate that high LHR activity due to high LH stimulate abnormal cAMP levels. The interaction between FSHR and IRS proteins (IRS-1 or IRS-2) is altered due to high LH/LHR expression/activity. This study demonstrates novel therapeutic targets in women with PCOS. The inhibition of high LHR activity with antagonistic peptides or LHR specific nanobodies would pave a way towards management of hormonal imbalance in women with PCOS.