Convolutional neural network applied for nanoparticle classification using coherent scatterometry data.

The analysis of 2D scattering maps generated in scatterometry experiments for detection and classification of nanoparticles on surfaces is a cumbersome and slow process. Recently, deep learning techniques have been adopted to avoid manual feature extraction and classification in many research and application areas, including optics. In the present work, we collected experimental datasets of nanoparticles deposited on wafers for four different classes of polystyrene particles (with diameters of 40, 50, 60, and 80 nm) plus a background (no particles) class. We trained a convolutional neural network, including its architecture optimization, and achieved 95% accurate results. We compared the performance of this network to an existing method based on line-by-line search and thresholding, demonstrating up to a twofold enhanced performance in particle classification. The network is extended by a supervisor layer that can reject up to 80% of the fooling images at the cost of rejecting only 10% of original data. The developed Python and PyTorch codes, as well as dataset, are available online.

Comparison between x-ray diffraction and quantitative surface calorimetry based on infrared thermography to evaluate strain-induced crystallinity in natural rubber.

The crystallinity of stretched crystallizable rubbers is classically evaluated using x-ray diffraction (XRD). As crystallization is a strongly exothermal phenomenon, quantitative surface calorimetry from infrared thermography offers an interesting alternative to XRD for determining the crystallinity. In this paper, the two measurement techniques have been used for evaluating the strain-induced crystallinity of the same unfilled natural rubber. This study provides the first comparison between the two techniques. The results obtained highlight the very satisfactory agreement between the two measurements, which opens a simple way for evaluating the strain-induced crystallinity from temperature measurements.

Optimizing charge breeding techniques for ISOL facilities in Europe: Conclusions from the EMILIE project.

The present paper summarizes the results obtained from the past few years in the framework of the Enhanced Multi-Ionization of short-Lived Isotopes for Eurisol (EMILIE) project. The EMILIE project aims at improving the charge breeding techniques with both Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources (ECRIS) and Electron Beam Ion Sources (EBISs) for European Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facilities. Within EMILIE, an original technique for debunching the beam from EBIS charge breeders is being developed, for making an optimal use of the capabilities of CW post-accelerators of the future facilities. Such a debunching technique should eventually resolve duty cycle and time structure issues which presently complicate the data-acquisition of experiments. The results of the first tests of this technique are reported here. In comparison with charge breeding with an EBIS, the ECRIS technique had lower performance in efficiency and attainable charge state for metallic ion beams and also suffered from issues related to beam contamination. In recent years, improvements have been made which significantly reduce the differences between the two techniques, making ECRIS charge breeding more attractive especially for CW machines producing intense beams. Upgraded versions of the Phoenix charge breeder, originally developed by LPSC, will be used at SPES and GANIL/SPIRAL. These two charge breeders have benefited from studies undertaken within EMILIE, which are also briefly summarized here.

An original architectured NiTi silicone rubber structure for biomedical applications.

This paper deals with composite structures for biomedical applications. For this purpose, an architectured tubular structure composed of Nickel Titanium (NiTi) Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) and silicone rubber was fabricated. One of the main interests of such structures is to ensure a good adhesion between its two constitutive materials. A previous study of the authors (Rey et al., 2014) has shown that the adhesion between NiTi and silicone rubber can be improved by an adhesion promoter or plasma treatment. However, adhesion promoters are often not biocompatible. Hence, plasma treatment is favored to be used in the present study. Three different gases were tested; air, argon and oxygen. The effects of these treatments on the maximum force required to pull-out a NiTi wire from the silicone rubber matrix were investigated by means of pull-out tests carried out with a self-developed device. Among the three gases, a higher maximum force was obtained for argon gas in the plasma treatment. A tube shaped architectured NiTi/silicone rubber structure was then produced using this treatment. The composite was tested by means of a bulge test. Results open a new way of investigations for architectured NiTi-silicone structures for biomechanical applications.

Differential activation of mitochondrial apoptotic pathways by vasculotropic amyloid-beta variants in cells composing the cerebral vessel walls.

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is an age-associated condition and a common finding in Alzheimer's disease in which amyloid-beta (Abeta) vascular deposits are featured in >80% of the cases. Familial Abeta variants bearing substitutions at positions 21-23 are primarily associated with CAA, although they manifest with strikingly different clinical phenotypes: cerebral hemorrhage or dementia. The recently reported Piedmont L34V Abeta mutant, located outside the hot spot 21-23, shows a similar hemorrhagic phenotype, albeit less aggressive than the widely studied Dutch E22Q variant. We monitored the apoptotic events occurring after stimulation of human brain microvascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells with nonfibrillar structures of both variants and wild-type Abeta40. Induction of analogous caspase-mediated mitochondrial pathways was elicited by all peptides, although within different time frames and intensity. Activated pathways were susceptible to pharmacological modulation either through direct inhibition of mitochondrial cytochrome c release or by the action of pan- and pathway-specific caspase inhibitors, giving a clear indication of the independent or synergistic engagement of both extrinsic and intrinsic mechanisms. Structural analyses of the Abeta peptides showed that apoptosis preceded fibril formation, correlating with the presence of oligomers and/or protofibrils. The data support the notion that rare genetic mutations constitute unique paradigms to understand the molecular pathogenesis of CAA.

Low-density lipoprotein receptor family: endocytosis and signal transduction.

The low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) family is composed of a class of single transmembrane glycoproteins, generally recognized as cell surface endocytic receptors, which bind and internalize extracellular ligands for degradation by lysosomes. Structurally, members of the LDLR family share homology within their extracellular domains, which are highlighted by the presence of clusters of ligand-binding repeats. Recently, information regarding the structural and functional elements within their cytoplasmic tails has begun to emerge, which suggests that members of the LDLR family function not only in receptor-mediated endocytosis, but also in transducing signals that are important during embryonic development and the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. This review focuses on recent knowledge of the structural and functional aspects of LDLR family members in endocytosis and signal transduction. The relationship of these functions to the development of the neuronal system and in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease is specifically discussed.

The human FE65 gene: genomic structure and an intronic biallelic polymorphism associated with sporadic dementia of the Alzheimer type.

The FE65 protein binds to the intracellular domain of the beta-amyloid precursor protein (betaPP) and may modulate the internalization of betaPP. This gene is highly expressed in regions of the brain specifically affected in dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT). As a prelude to further investigations of the role of FE65 in the metabolism of betaPP and in the pathogenesis of DAT, we have determined the entire genomic structure and sequence of human FE65 and have discovered several polymorphisms in this gene. Human FE65 contains 14 exons ranging in size from 6 to 735 bp. All splice sites conform to consensus sequences except for the donor site of intron 10. The 5' end of FE65 mRNA was identified by rapid amplification of the cDNA 5' end and is 31 bp longer than the previously published cDNA sequence. The 5'-flanking region of this gene is TATA-less and is very GC-rich with at least five putative Sp1 binding sites. In comparison to the genomic rat FE65 sequence, the human FE65 5'-untranslated region is 134 bp longer and has an extra exon (exon 1, 86 bp). To identify mutations/polymorphisms of the coding regions of this gene, we performed blinded analysis of 457 Caucasian case-control samples from a large epidemiological study of sporadic DAT. Screening was conducted by single-strand conformation polymorphism. Four minor variants were found within the coding region, with frequencies between 0.002 and 0.015; two of the four result in amino acid substitutions. The more informative biallelic polymorphism (a trinucleotide deletion and a single base substitution) was found within intron 13 (84 bp), which interrupts two exons encoding the betaPP binding site. The frequency of the minor allele in this intron was 0.097 in DAT cases and 0.161 in controls (chi2=7.78, P=0.0054). Having at least one copy of the minor allele was associated with a decreased risk for DAT (chi2=9.20, P<0.005, odds ratio=0.49, 95% CI 0.31-0.77). Multivariate analysis showed that this association was independent of the APOE genotype. These results suggest that either FE65 itself or a closely linked gene influences the pathogenesis of sporadic DAT. The interaction of FE65 with betaPP and the association of a FE65 polymorphism with DAT lend credence to the hypothesis that the metabolism of betaPP is central to the pathogenesis of common sporadic forms of DAT.

Serotype-specific outbreak of group B meningococcal disease in Iquique, Chile.

From 1979 to August 1987, there have been 178 cases of meningococcal disease in Iquique, Chile, a city of about 140,000. The attack rate for the last 5 years has been in excess of 20/100,000 per year, more than 20 times greater than for the country overall. The mortality rate was 6%. The disease occurred in patients with ages from 4 months to 60 years, but 89% of cases were in patients less than 21 years. The largest number of cases were in the age group 5-9 years (n = 54), but the highest incidence occurred in children less than 1 year of age (72.8/100,000 per year). The male/female ratio was 1.2. Cases occurred all year round with little seasonal variation. Of the 178 cases, 173 were biologically confirmed. Serogroup analysis of strains from 135 patients revealed A = 1, B = 124, C = 10. Forty-four group B strains from 1985-7 were serotyped: 15:P1.3 = 36, 15:NT = 4, 4:P1.3 = 2, NT:NT = 2. Ten of 11 of the outbreak strains tested were sulfadiazine-resistant. This is the first recognized outbreak caused by a Gp B:15 strain in South America. It shares many of the characteristics of outbreaks caused by closely related strains in Europe, such as a predilection for older children and adolescents, sulfadiazine-resistance, and sustained high attack rates. The Iquique strain (B:15:P1.3) belongs to the same genetic clone (ET-5 complex) as the Norway (B:15:P1.16) and the Cuban (B:4:P1.15) strains.

Double-blind randomised crossover trial of moderate sodium restriction in essential hypertension.

Nineteen unselected patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension, whose average supine blood pressure after two months' observation on no treatment was 156/98 mm Hg, were advised not to add salt to food and to avoid sodium-laden foods. After 2 weeks of sodium restriction patients were entered into an 8-week double-blind randomised crossover study of 'Slow Sodium' (Ciba) versus slow sodium placebo. The mean supine blood pressure was 7.1 mm Hg (6.1%) lower in the fourth week of placebo than that in the fourth week of slow sodium (p less than 0.001). Urinary sodium excretion in the fourth week of slow sodium was 162 +/- 9 mmol/24 h and that in the fourth week of placebo was 86 mmol +/- 9 mmol/24 h (p less than 0.001). There was no difference in potassium excretion. These results suggest that moderate sodium restriction achieved by not adding salt and avoiding sodium-laden foods should, if not already, become part of the management of essential hypertension.

The effect of aluminium hydroxide orally on calcium, phosphorus and aluminium metabolism in normal subjects.

1. Five normal subjects were given 100 ml of aluminium hydroxide gel per day for 28 days. 2. The phosphorus balance became more positive in one subject, less negative in two and changed from negative to positive in the other two subjects. This was accompanied by a rise in the concentration of the fasting morning plasma phosphorus. Calcium balance did not change. 3. The normal subjects absorbed 0-3-3-6 mmol of aluminium/day, which is significantly less than that absorbed by five patients with chronic renal failure, three of whom were studied before, and two after, the observations on the normal subjects had been completed. 4. In a further five normal subjects on 100 ml of aluminium hydroxide gel/day the 08.00 hours concentration of plasma phosphorus did not fall, though there was a fall at 11.00, 14.00 and 17.00 hours.