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Multifunctional dietary approach reduces intestinal inflammation in relation with changes in gut microbiota composition in subjects at cardiometabolic risk: the SINFONI project
No full textThe development of cardiometabolic (CM) diseases is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, partly linked to alterations of the gut microbiota (GM) and reduced intestinal integrity. The SINFONI project investigates a multifunctional (MF) nutritional strategy's impact combining different bioactive compounds on inflammation, GM modulation and CM profile. In this randomized crossover-controlled study, 30 subjects at CM-risk consumed MF cereal-products, enriched with polyphenols, fibers, slowly-digestible starch, omega-3 fatty acids or Control cereal-products (without bioactive compounds) for 2 months. Metabolic endotoxemia (lipopolysaccharide (LPS), lipopolysaccharide-binding protein over soluble cluster of differentiation-14 (LBP/sCD14), systemic inflammation and cardiovascular risk markers, intestinal inflammation, CM profile and response to a one-week fructose supplementation, were assessed at fasting and post mixed-meal. GM composition and metabolomic analysis were conducted. Mixed linear models were employed, integrating time (pre/post), treatment (MF/control), and sequence/period. Compared to control, MF intervention reduced intestinal inflammation (fecal calprotectin, p = 0.007) and endotoxemia (fasting LPS, p < 0.05), without alteration of systemic inflammation. MF decreased serum branched-chain amino acids compared to control (p < 0.05) and increased B.ovatus, B.uniformis, A.butyriciproducens and unclassified Christensenellaceae.CAG-74 (p < 0.05). CM markers were unchanged. A 2-month dietary intervention combining multiple bioactive compounds improved intestinal inflammation and induced GM modulation. Such strategy appears as an effective strategy to target low-grade inflammation through multi-target approach
Le Vrai et le Faux: Le panorama comme machine de vision
No full textIl s'agit d'un échange entre Alexander Streitberger et Arno Gisinger sur la place du panorama comme dispositif spectaculaire au sein de l'oeuvre artistique de Gisinger. Le panorama est considéré comme une "machine de vision" (Paul Virilio) qui permet à la fois d'activer la mémoire et de réfléchir sur les relations entre médium, regard et image
Co-existing regeneration mechanisms in severe alcohol-related steatohepatitis
No full textBackground: Keratin 7 positive (K7+) cells are considered to be activated in case of impaired hepatocyte replication. Their exact role and their interaction with hepatocytes and macrophages also implicated in liver regeneration remain poorly characterized in humans. The aim of this study is to evaluate hepatocyte, K7+ cells and macrophage populations in severe alcohol-related steatohepatitis (sASH) and to link them with liver injury and patients’ outcomes. Methods: Immunohistochemical and morphometric studies for total K7+ cells, macrophages (CD68+ cells), proliferative hepatocytes (Ki67+ hepatocytes) and proliferative K7+ cells (double K7+ and Ki67+) were performed on liver biopsies of patients with sASH recruited prospectively in 16 different centres. Patients were divided into improvers or non-improvers, according to mortality and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score change at 3 months. Results: Fifty-seven cases were included for histological and morphometrical assessment. Liver total K7+ cell expansion was positively correlated to the severity of the disease evaluated by the MELD score. A proportion of these K7+ cells were proliferating. The number of proliferating K7+ cells was less than the number of proliferating hepatocytes. Increased hepatocyte replication was correlated to a higher proliferative K7+ cell count. A higher number of macrophages was associated with a higher proliferation of both hepatocytes and K7+ cells. No difference of total K7+ cells, proliferative K7+ cells, proliferative hepatocytes or macrophages was observed between improvers and non-improvers. Conclusions: In biopsy-proven cases of sASH, proliferation of hepatocytes and K7+ cells occurs in parallel. This could suggest that liver progenitor cells begin to replicate even in the absence of massive hepatocyte senescence in humans, or that proliferating progenitor cells are capable of giving rise to hepatocytes with replicative skills. This is associated with macrophagic expansion, which is therefore considered beneficial. However, in this severe, life-threatening disease, these mechanisms remain insufficient to improve patient prognosis
The Oxford Handbook of Belgian Politics
No full textWith 40 contributions written by renown scholars, this Handbook offers a state of the art on Belgian politics and sets the agenda for future research
Competition between fracture mechanisms in third generation advanced high strength steel sheets
No full textIn the past decades, the development of advanced high strength steel (AHSS) sheets, for the automotive industry, has led to superior levels of tensile strength and adequate ductility, both attainable at low manufacturing costs. However, these steels have shown a tendency to switch from conventional ductile fracture dominated by void coalescence to other failure modes such as macroscopic plastic localization and even brittle intergranular cracking. Motivated by the detrimental implications of such failure transitions on formability and crash worthiness, a large campaign of mechanical tests were performed on third generation AHSS with the goal of inducing deformation and failure in a variety of ways. In this work multiple failure mode transitions are found : (i) ductile damage to plastic localization at higher temperature, (ii) ductile damage to brittle quasi-cleavage at higher stress triaxiality, and (iii) an unusual failure mode alternating between ductile damage and brittle (quasi-)cleavage regions, organized in a periodic arrowhead pattern pointing towards the cracking direction. These transitions are characterized and the underlying microstructural and micromechanical parameters are identified.(FSA - Sciences de l'ingénieur) -- UCL, 202
Viscoelastic Properties of Metallo-Supramolecular Networks: Relationship Between Sticker/Entanglement Dynamics and Terminal Relaxation
No full textWe investigate the linear viscoelastic properties of poly(n-butyl acrylate) (PnBA) metallo-supramolecular networks in the melt state, based on bis-complexes formed by terpyridine (tpy) ligands and divalent metal ions. These networks are constructed from telechelic stars, entangled or not, bearing tpy chain-ends. The nature of the metal ions is varied (Zn(II) and Cu(II) ions, blended or not) as well as the used amount (stoichiometric amount or excess). By systematically varying the network composition (building block architecture and ion content), we elucidate the influence of stickers on terminal relaxation with a focus on the interplay between sticker and entanglement dynamics. The delayed terminal relaxation of the transient networks is rationalized by the means of modified Rouse and time-marching algorithm (TMA) tube models. Our theoretical analysis supports a multistep relaxation mechanism involving repeated dissociation/reassociation events. It also allows us to extract an intrinsic value of approximately 40 kJ/mol for the activation energy for the dissociation of Zn2+/tpy bis-complexes, regardless of the building block topology or the ion content. In the presence of entanglements, this activation energy cannot be found by only looking at the temperature dependence of the terminal relaxation time, which demonstrates the importance of separating the sticker and entanglement dynamics to unravel the viscoelastic response of these transient networks
Un proyecto renovado de sociología global
No full textSi la sociología pretende comprender las transformaciones de nuestro mundo, nuestra disciplina también se ve afectada y transformada por ellas. Esto es particularmente cierto en el caso del proyecto de una sociología global, que necesita ser revisado a la luz de las transformaciones que nuestro mundo y las ciencias sociales han experimentado en las últimas décadas