2,257 research outputs found
Etude sémiopragmatique d’un conte hagiographique amazigh intitulé La confiance en Dieu
No full textL’objet de notre étude d’un conte hagiographique amazigh, La confiance en Dieu, recueilli par E. Laoust dans la région de l’Atlas chez les Ntifa, s’inscrit dans la perspective et la démarche de la sémiopragmatique. Après le questionnement des sources de l’oralité, nous aborderons d’abord l’analyse de ce récit hagiographique, du point de vue de la structuration narrative interne dudit conte et, ensuite, nous nous attacherons à la dimension sémantique et pragmatique du récit
Influence of white etching bands formation on integrity of rolling element bearings
No full textThe development of subsurface microstructural alterations known as dark etching regions (DERs) and white etching bands (WEBs) in rolling element bearings due to rolling contact fatigue have been investigated for the past eight decades, focusing on their initiation and formation mechanisms. They have only recently been shown to be driven by repetitive cycles of energy build-up due to micro-plastic deformation and energy release through recrystallization and recovery, which results in the formation of equiaxed and elongated ferrite grains, as well as lenticular carbides. These features develop within the bearing subsurface from DER to WEBs during bearing operation at moderate to high loads, but little evidence has been presented in the literature to understand links between DER and WEBs and the nucleation and growth of subsurface cracks. This investigation examines WEBs, including low angle bands (LABs) and high angle bands (HABs), in detail especially focusing on their late stages to understand such links. A number of techniques, including optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) have been used to examine the features involved. Analysis on WEBs obtained through serial sectioning has revealed that voids initiating at the interface between lenticular carbides and equiaxed ferrite grain bands within WEBs have led to crack formation which can subsequently propagate to bearing surfaces. Interactions between WEBs and non-metallic inclusions (NMIs) are observed to lead to de-bonding of inclusions from their surrounding microstructure and void formation, which has also found to influence the integrity of the bearings at late stages. Alumina and Manganese sulphide (MnS) inclusions are the mostly observed NMIs that de-bond and develop microcracks when interacting with WEBs. These findings thus provide important insights into the link between inclusions and crack initiation and represent a further step towards a fundamental understanding of the rolling contact fatigue process
Effects of Nuclear-Targeted Nanoparticles on the Cell Function in Human Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells During Cisplatin Treatment
No full textThis project focuses on evaluating the effects of nanoparticles on the cellular responses in human oral squamous cell carcinoma (HSC) cells during the administration of cisplatin. Cisplatin is an effective chemotherapeutic drug used to treat numerous forms of human cancer. It is, however, also highly susceptible to creating drug resistance in cancer cells. Restriction of the mobility of HSC cells reduces its ability to spread resistant cells throughout the body. In this study, we investigated the cellular mobility of HSC cells in the presence of a combination of cisplatin and nuclear-targeted gold nanocubes. The HSC cells were treated with cisplatin with and without nanocubes to study their effects on the mobility. Trends were assessed for changes in position and velocity over time. It was found that, the presence of nanoparticles alone restricts the displacement of the HSC cells. As an extension, the effects of nanoparticles on drug resistant HCS cells was studied. HSC cells were systematically treated with cisplatin to create cisplatin-resistant cell lines. The viability of these cell lines were then tested at different levels of drug resistance. Furthermore, the effect of nuclear-targeted nanoparticles on bypassing drug resistance in cisplatin-resistant HSC cells were evaluated. Trends amongst cell resistance and nanoparticle presence were assessed. Furthermore, the radius and surface charge were analyzed to understand characteristics that lead to optimal uptake. Additionally, the growth and changes in uptake experienced by cisplatin resistant cells were analyzed to gain insight into how these changes effected uptake of the nanoparticles.Undergraduat
Impact of Poultry Manure-Derived Biochar and Bio-Fertilizer Application to Boost Production of Black Cumin Plants (Nigella sativa L.) Grown on Sandy Loam Soil
No full textBiochar derived from poultry manure increases nutrient availability and promotes plant growth. This study investigated the effect of biochar with mycorrhizal and/or plant growthpromoting rhizobacteria on soil fertility, chemical properties, oil, and seed yield of Black Cumin (Nigella sativa L.) plants. A split-plot design with three replicates was employed, with biochar derived from poultry litter (BC) applied at rates of 0, 5, and 10 t ha−1, with beneficial microbes such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) affecting the growth of Black Cumin plants, and some soil properties, such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), soil organic matter (SOM) and fertility index (FI), showing significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) among biochar and/or bio-fertilizer treatments. All biochar treatments with or without bio-fertilizers significantly increased pH, EC, OM and FI in comparison to the control treatment. The results demonstrated that applying biochar at the highest rate (10 t ha−1) increased fresh and dry capsule weights by 94.51% and 63.34%, respectively, compared to the control treatment (C). These values were significantly increased by 53.05 and 18.37%, compared to untreated plants when combined with AMF and PGPR. Furthermore, when biochar was applied in conjunction with both AMF and PGPR, fresh and dry capsule weights saw significant increases of 208.84% and 91.18%, respectively, compared to the untreated control treatment. The interaction between biochar, AMF, and PGPR
significantly improved plant growth, yield, soil properties, and the fixed and volatile oil content of Black Cumin. These findings suggest that the combined application of biochar, AMF, and PGPR enhances nutrient availability and uptake, leading to improved growth and higher yields in Black Cumin plants, resulting in increased yield productio
Computational design of optimal discrete-time output feedback controllers
No full textAbstract This paper considers the problem of designing a stabilizing static output feedback controller of linear discrete-time systems that minimizes certain quadratic performance index. A trust-region method is developed to solve an equivalent optimization problem of this optimal control problem. In addition, a first-order method is introduced to compute suboptimal stabilizing output feedback controllers that are used to initiate the trust-region method. Finally some numerical results that illustrate the performance of the proposed methods are given
Role of cutaneous T-cell-attracting chemokine and interleukin-32 in the pathogenesis of mycosis fungoides
No full textBackground Mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most common form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Interleukin (IL)-32 is a proinflammatory cytokine expressed by activated natural killer cells, T cells, keratinocytes, and fibroblasts. Cutaneous T-cell-attracting chemokine (CTACK/CCL27) is selectively expressed in the skin and attracts CC chemokine receptor 10-expressing skin-homing memory T cells.
Objective To investigate the role of IL-32 and CTACK in the pathogenesis of MF by assessing IL-32 and CTACK levels in patients with MF and normal controls.
Patients and methods Serum samples and skin biopsies from lesional and nonlesional skin of 16 patients and controls were collected to examine CTACK and IL-32 levels using ELISA, and results were compared with controls. In six patients, we collected the sera before and after treatment.
Results A highly significant difference between cases and controls regarding CTACK and IL-32 serum and tissue levels was found in this case–control study. A highly significant difference between CTACK and IL-32 levels in lesional tissue, nonlesional tissue, and normal skin was found. IL-32 and CTACK markers were strongly correlated with the types of skin lesions. In six patients, serum CTACK and IL-32 were significantly decreased after treatment.
Conclusion CTACK/CC chemokine receptor 27 and IL-32 may play an important role in the pathophysiology of MF
Modelling correlated consumers’ preferences
No full textThe CUB model is a mixture distribution recently proposed in literature for modelling ordinal data. The CUB parameters may be related to explanatory variables describing the raters or the object of evaluation. Although various methodological aspects of this class of models have been investigated, the problem of multivariate ordinal data representation is still open. In this article the Plackett distribution is used in order to construct a bivariate distribution from CUB margins. Furthermore, the model is extended so that the effect of rater characteristics on their stated preferences is included
Beating cancer in multiple ways using nanogold
No full textGold nanoparticles possess a unique combination of properties which allow them to act as highly multifunctional anti-cancer agents (X. H. Huang, P. K. Jain, I. H. El-Sayed and M. A. El-Sayed, Nanomedicine, 2007, 2, 681–693; P. Ghosh, G. Han, M. De, C. K. Kim and V. M. Rotello, Adv. Drug Delivery Rev., 2008, 60, 1307–1315; S. Lal, S. E. Clare and N. J. Halas, Acc. Chem. Res., 2008, 41, 1842–1851; D. A. Giljohann, D. S. Seferos, W. L. Daniel, M. D. Massich, P. C. Patel and C. A. Mirkin, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 2010, 49, 3280–3294). Not only can they be used as targeted contrast agents for photothermal cancer therapy, they can serve as scaffolds for increasingly potent cancer drug delivery, as transfection agents for selective gene therapy, and as intrinsic antineoplastic agents. This tutorial review will highlight some of the many forms and recent applications of these gold nanoparticle conjugates by our lab and others, as well as their rational design and physiologic interactions. © 2011 The Royal Society of Chemistry
Clinicopathological features and therapeutic outcomes of bladder cancer in younger adults
No full textObjectives: to evaluate the clinicopathological features, recurrence and survival in patients up to 50 years of age diagnosed with primary bladder-cancer.Methods: during a 14-year period (1997-2011), 71 patients aged ≤50 years with bladder-cancer were analyzed in a single institution. Survival probabilities and associations were calculated using Kaplan-Meier, log-rank and Chi-squared-tests.Results: median age at diagnosis was 43.4 years (inter quartile-range [IQR] 39-47); median follow-up was 60.9 months (2.1-168.3). Non-muscle-invasive (NMI; pTa-pT1) bladder-cancer was commoner than muscle-invasive (MI; pT2-pT4) bladder-cancer (89% [n=63] versus 11% [n=8], respectively). Nineteen patients (27%) were ≤40 years and 52 (73%) were 41-50 years. MI bladder-cancer was commoner in 41-50-year group (13% [n=7/52]) than ≤40-year group (5% [n=1/19]; p=0.03), as was high-grade disease (23% [n=12/52] versus 16% [n=3/19], respectively; p=0.04). Twenty-one patients (30%) developed recurrence (29% [n=6/21] ≤40-years versus 72% [n=15/21] 41-50-years; p=0.12), with progression occurring only in 41-50-year group (19% [n=4/21]). A higher proportion of patients underwent cystectomy in the 41-50-year group (89% [n=8/9]) compared to those in the ≤40-year group (11% [n=1/9]; p=0.03). Five-year overall survival and cancer-specific survival were both 100% in ≤40-year group, and 84% and 86% in 41-50-year group, respectively. Among patients aged 41-50 years, those with MI bladder-cancer had particularly lower survival rates.Conclusion: bladder-cancer in younger adults is generally characterized by less aggressive disease with a favorable outcome. However, there is an increase in tumors incidence, muscle invasion, recurrence and progression after 40 years of age. Higher cystectomy and lower survival rates are also observed in this age group
L’islam in Italia e le carceri
No full textEsiste un islam europeo? Larga parte dell’opinione pubblica in Europa ha una percezione negativa dei musulmani, dovuta alla paura per gli attacchi terroristici e al racconto allarmista dell’immigrazione islamica, considerati così due fenomeni correlati. Tutto ciò genera forme di islamofobia con ricadute dagli alti costi sociali, sia per quel che riguarda il processo di integrazione sia – paradossalmente – per la stessa lotta alla radicalizzazione. L’Europa ha la storia e le risorse per produrre modelli di inclusione capaci di disinnescare questa spirale di conflitti sociali interconnessi. Le voci autorevoli raccolte nel volume mostrano la realtà poco conosciuta dei “musulmani d’Europa” e indicano la strada di un’integrazione possibile
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