La littérature belge comme partie prenante d'une francophonie Nord

in Cahiers de l'Association Internationale des Etudes Françaises [=CAIEF] (2011), 63

Induced sputum in asthma: from bench to bedside.

in Current medicinal chemistry (2011), 18(10), 1415-22

During recent years there has been a growing interest in using non-invasive biomarkers to understand and monitor the airway inflammation in subjects with respiratory tract disorders and mainly asthma and ... [more ▼]

During recent years there has been a growing interest in using non-invasive biomarkers to understand and monitor the airway inflammation in subjects with respiratory tract disorders and mainly asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Sputum induction is generally a well-tolerated and safe procedure and a European Respiratory Society Task Force has published a comprehensive review on sputum methodology. Induced sputum cell count and, to a lesser extent, mediator measurements have been particularly well validated. In asthma, the sputum and the cell culture supernatant can be used for the measurement of a variety of soluble mediators, including eosinophil-derived proteins, nitric oxide (NO) derivatives, cytokines and remodelling-associated proteins. Sputum eosinophilia (> 3%) is a classic feature of asthma although half of the patients seems to be non eosinophilic. Measuring the percentage of sputum eosinophils has proved to be useful in the clinical arena in helping to predict short term response to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and tailor the dose of ICS in the severe patients but there is scope for the application of other induced sputum markers potentially useful in clinical practice. The widespread application of induced sputum in asthma across the spectrum of disease severity has given insight into the relationship between airway function and airway inflammation, proposed new disease phenotypes and defined which of these phenotypes respond to current therapy, and perhaps most importantly provided an additional tool to guide the clinical management of asthmatic patients. To date sputum induction is the only non-invasive measure of airway inflammation that has a clearly proven role in asthma management. [less ▲]

Conférences: les rencontres du CEA en 2010

Report (2011)

Kinetics of Reactions of the Actinomadura R39 dd-Peptidase with Specific Substrates.

in Biochemistry (2011), 50(3), 376-387

The Actinomadura R39 dd-peptidase catalyzes the hydrolysis and aminolysis of a number of small peptides and depsipeptides. Details of its substrate specificity and the nature of its in vivo substrate are ... [more ▼]

The Actinomadura R39 dd-peptidase catalyzes the hydrolysis and aminolysis of a number of small peptides and depsipeptides. Details of its substrate specificity and the nature of its in vivo substrate are not, however, well understood. This paper describes the interactions of the R39 enzyme with two peptidoglycan-mimetic substrates 3-(d-cysteinyl)propanoyl-d-alanyl-d-alanine and 3-(d-cysteinyl)propanoyl-d-alanyl-d-thiolactate. A detailed study of the reactions of the former substrate, catalyzed by the enzyme, showed dd-carboxypeptidase, dd-transpeptidase, and dd-endopeptidase activities. These results confirm the specificity of the enzyme for a free d-amino acid at the N-terminus of good substrates and indicated a preference for extended d-amino acid leaving groups. The latter was supported by determination of the structural specificity of amine nucleophiles for the acyl-enzyme generated by reaction of the enzyme with the thiolactate substrate. It was concluded that a specific substrate for this enzyme, and possibly the in vivo substrate, may consist of a partly cross-linked peptidoglycan polymer where a free side chain N-terminal un-cross-linked amino acid serves as the specific acyl group in an endopeptidase reaction. The enzyme is most likely a dd-endopeptidase in vivo. pH−rate profiles for reactions of the enzyme with peptides, the thiolactate named above, and β-lactams indicated the presence of complex proton dissociation pathways with sticky substrates and/or protons. The local structure of the active site may differ significantly for reactions of peptides and β-lactams. Solvent kinetic deuterium isotope effects indicate the presence of classical general acid/base catalysis in both acylation and deacylation; there is no evidence of the low fractionation factor active site hydrogen found previously in class A and C β-lactamases. [less ▲]

Hypomelanosis of Ito: pigmentary mosaicism with immature melanosome in keratinocytes.

in International Journal of Dermatology (2011), 50(10), 1234-9

BACKGROUND: Hypomelanosis of Ito is a rare genetic disorder characterized by whorled areas of hypomelanosis. The purpose of the present study was to revisit some aspects of Ito's hypomelanosis. METHODS ... [more ▼]

BACKGROUND: Hypomelanosis of Ito is a rare genetic disorder characterized by whorled areas of hypomelanosis. The purpose of the present study was to revisit some aspects of Ito's hypomelanosis. METHODS: Clinical observations included ultraviolet-light-enhanced visualization (ULEV) method. Histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy were performed on biopsy samples from the hypopigmented areas and the surrounding skin. RESULTS: Both the ULEV and microscopic examinations revealed the heterogeneity of the pigmentation. Hypomelanosis was characterized by a reduction in melanosomes, both in melanocytes and keratinocytes. These organelles were immature and atypical, showing a weak tyrosinase immunoreactivity. Melanosome macroautophagy was prominent in keratinocytes. Some clusters of the same cells exhibited strong immunoreactivity for the Mac 387 antibody (Ca(2+) -dependent calprotectin). Ulex europaeus agglutinin-1 (UEA-1) decorated the superficial layers of the epidermis. Such features are typically found in functionally altered keratinocytes. A number of dermal cells exhibited intense phagocytic activity linked to lysozyme immunoreactivity. CONCLUSIONS: Both the melanosome depletion and macroautophagy of immature melanosomes in keratinocytes appeared to represent prominent aspects of hypomelanosis of Ito. In sum, Ito's hypomelanosis combines structural and functional changes affecting both the melanocytes and keratinocytes in the skin. [less ▲]

Plectolyngbya hodgsonii: a novel filamentous cyanobacterium from Antarctic lakes

in Polar Biology (2011), 34

A special cluster of filamentous, false-branched cyanobacteria, isolated from littoral mat samples in coastal lakes of the Larsemann Hills region (coll. by D. Hodgson) was studied by a polyphasic approach ... [more ▼]

A special cluster of filamentous, false-branched cyanobacteria, isolated from littoral mat samples in coastal lakes of the Larsemann Hills region (coll. by D. Hodgson) was studied by a polyphasic approach. This morphotype has several characters corresponding to the traditional genera Leptolyngbya (morphology of trichomes), Pseudophormidium (type of false branching) or Schizothrix (occasional multiple arrangement of trichomes in the sheaths). However, this cluster of strains is distinctly isolated according to its phylogenetic position (based on 16S rRNA gene sequences), and thus, a separate generic classification is justified. The cytomorphology of this generic entity is also characteristic. Therefore, a new genus (Plectolyngbya with the type species P. hodgsonii) was described. [less ▲]

Sleep

in Encyclopaedia Britannica (2011)

Report on the first workshop on Movement Pattern Analysis (MPA10)

in Journal of Spatial Information Science [=JOSIS] (2011), 2(2011), 127-133

Gender, Migration and Agency: Developing a “Hauntology” of New Becomings in Shauna Singh Baldwin’s “Devika” and in Ginu Kamani’s “Just Between Indians”

in Acta Scientiarum. Language and Culture (2011), 33(1), 23-29

In recent short stories written by diasporic Indian women writers, changes in terms of location or national identity are generally depicted as providing significant opportunities for Indian women to ... [more ▼]

In recent short stories written by diasporic Indian women writers, changes in terms of location or national identity are generally depicted as providing significant opportunities for Indian women to challenge and revise culturally-inscribed gender roles. In two collections of short stories written respectively by Ginu Kamani and Shauna Singh Baldwin, Junglee Girl and English Lessons and Other Stories, not only are ghosts employed to rupture boundaries between the living and the dead, but they also represent enabling presences which authorize female voices by resurrecting stories of women that have been silenced or forgotten. In these two books, the emergence of the archaic is recurrently tinged with liberating undertones since it opens up new spaces for identity by countering gendered expectations of ‘acceptable’ behaviour and by constructing alternative realities. My essay will therefore focus on the central metaphors of female ghosts and doubles as transitional figures through which women in transit empower themselves. My aim is to show how culturally displaced women appropriate the uncanny so as to engender new identities and assert the value of individual female experience. In these haunted narratives, I will contend, women move from a ghostly time of repetition to a ‘hauntology’ of new becomings. [less ▲]

Influence of drospirenone on renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system evaluation

in Endocrine Abstracts - 13th European Congress of Endocrinology (2011)