Showing papers by "University of Rouen published in 2023"

Exploring the EVolution in PrognOstic CapabiLity of MUltisequence Cardiac MagneTIc ResOnance in PatieNts Affected by Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy Based on Machine Learning Analysis

Abstract: Purpose: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) is a transient but severe acute myocardial dysfunction with a wide range of outcomes from favorable to life-threatening. The current risk stratification scores of TTC patients do not include cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) parameters. To date, it is still unknown whether and how clinical, trans-thoracic echocardiography (TTE), and CMR data can be integrated to improve risk stratification. Methods: EVOLUTION (Exploring the eVolution in prognOstic capabiLity of mUlti-sequence cardiac magneTIc resOnance in patieNts affected by Takotsubo cardiomyopathy) is a multicenter, international registry of TTC patients who will undergo a clinical, TTE, and CMR evaluation. Clinical data including demographics, risk factors, comorbidities, laboratory values, ECG, and results from TTE and CMR analysis will be collected, and each patient will be followed-up for in-hospital and long-term outcomes. Clinical outcome measures during hospitalization will include cardiovascular death, pulmonary edema, arrhythmias, stroke, or transient ischemic attack. Clinical long-term outcome measures will include cardiovascular death, pulmonary edema, heart failure, arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death, and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events defined as a composite endpoint of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, recurrence of TTC, transient ischemic attack, and stroke. We will develop a comprehensive clinical and imaging score that predicts TTC outcomes and test the value of machine learning models, incorporating clinical and imaging parameters to predict prognosis. Conclusions: The main goal of the study is to develop a comprehensive clinical and imaging score, that includes TTE and CMR data, in a large cohort of TTC patients for risk stratification and outcome prediction as a basis for possible changes in patient management.

Climate variability from Hot cave (Cyprus) for the last 700 years: implications for speleothem proxies in determining long-term paleoclimate signals

Abstract: The HIGH-PASM project studies the climate variability on the Island of Cyprus for the last millennium. We combine highly resolved speleothem records with archived weather data for the last 140 years in order to corroborate and understand climate signals recorded in speleothems over the last millennium. An active stalagmite of 8 cm length was collected from Hot cave in 2021 along with other secondary carbonate deposits from Lapithos Qanat, and Amiandos and Argaka Dam tunnels. U-Th dating and lamina counting were combined to produce an age model for Hot cave and Lapithos Qanat. 800 stable isotope measurements were conducted on the Hot cave stalagmite, 250 on the Lapithos sample and 45 on each of the Amiandos and Argaka deposits. Meteorological data collected since 1885 from four stations were consolidated and compared to the yearly resolved Hot cave and Lapithos records.The Hot cave stalagmite grew continuously from 1330 to 2021 AD, the Lapithos sample covers the last 150 years and both Amiandos and Argaka deposits provide a continuous record for the last ca. 50 years. There is a general correspondence between the ẟ18O signal and precipitation peaks over the last 140 years, showing more negative ẟ18O values corresponding to times of high precipitation. The ẟ13C signal co-varies in general with ẟ18O, except during ~1970-1980, ~1930, ~1680, ~1650, ~1490, ~1400-1410 and ~1360-1370 AD. During these periods an anti-correlation is observed. During the 20th century, periods of instrumental temperature rise are reflected by rising ẟ18O and ẟ13C values. A trend towards less negative ẟ18O values since 2000 AD is attributed to reduced rainfall amount and increased evapotranspiration as a consequence of steeply rising temperatures. During the instrumental period, the ẟ18O is a proxy of precipitation amount, and we assume that this relationship was valid for the last millennium. Strong temperature rises during certain intervals might also have affected the ẟ18O signal, reducing the sensitivity of this precipitation proxy.Comparing the Hot cave record with global and regional records, periods with less negative ẟ18O values correspond generally to intervals of a negative NAO index and high total solar irradiance. Wet periods with more negative ẟ18O values correspond to intervals of a positive NAO index and low solar irradiation. The Hot cave record shows that the Little Ice Age (1300-1870 AD) begun with long dry intervals lasting until 1520 AD, followed by wetter intervals from 1520 to 1800 AD, and later followed by again long dry intervals until the present-day. The climate variability trend recorded in Hot cave during the last 700 years agrees generally well with the dry index reconstructed from tree-ring records in Troodos (Cyprus) and stalagmite data from Kocain cave in Southern Turkey

Cover Feature: Use of Conglomerate Mixed Crystals to Deracemize a Stable Racemic‐Compound‐Forming System (Chem. Eur. J. 27/2023)

Abstract: Starting from a deracemizable conglomerate (blue and red cubes), it is possible to substitute in the solid-state part of the blue and red enantiomers with chemically related enantiomers (green and yellow cubes) that crystallize as a racemic compound. The mirror-image solid solutions (enriched mixed crystals) could be deracemized by temperature cycling (deracemized mixed crystals). More information can be found in the Research Article by G. Coquerel and co-workers (DOI: 10.1002/chem.202300441).

A stalagmite-based multiproxy reconstruction of local environmental changes in the 20th century from Normandy, France

Abstract: Speleothems are increasingly widely studied globally, but some regions remain poorly covered, including NW France. The cave-quarry of Caumont, located in Normandy develops in chalk limestone and contains speleothem formations from different time intervals. Chalk was extracted from this quarry for building stone since Roman times well into the 20th century. We collected several stalagmites from one of the excavated chambers with the aim to investigate their sensitivity to environmental signals. Of particular interest is stalagmite CCB-1 which was deposited over the last century and likely holds highly detailed climatic signals. We have tested whether stalagmite CCB-1 records hydrological or thermal seasonality, and if atmospheric circulation patterns can be reconstructed from this sample. To establish modern baselines we monitored temperature, drip rate, drip water isotopes, and collected modern carbonate precipitates between November 2019 and July 2021. The monitoring revealed that in-cave conditions are very stable all year round (Tcave air= 10.4 &#177;0.3&#176;C; &#948;18Odrip and &#948;Ddrip change is ~0.1&#8240; and <0.8&#8240; respectively). Modern calcite samples fall mostly on the Coplen (2007) equilibrium regression line, suggesting that modern precipitation occurs near isotope equilibrium.&#160;From sample CCB-1 we obtained three U/Th dates, counted 114 growth laminae and analysed 750 samples for stable isotope composition. The age model was constrained with laminae counting, historical inscriptions, and grey value based annual growth counting measurements and provides an annually resolved record for the last 114 years (1905 to 2019). The &#948;18O and &#948;13C signals from CCB-1 were compared with surface climatic parameters including precipitation, temperature, and the standardised precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) for the last century. While &#948;18O of carbonate is influenced by surface temperature and the original isotopic composition in precipitation, the &#948;13C signal is governed by effective moisture supply and prior carbonate precipitation. Our reconstruction analysis reveals a significant change in the isotope record after ca. 1960. This change is best seen when comparing the &#948;13C time series with the SPEI and might be related to increasingly drier local conditions. A trend to stronger local evapotranspiration in recent decades is most likely linked to an increasing lack of effective rainfall.&#160;

SorLA Protective Function Is Restored by Improving SorLA Protein Maturation in a Subset of Alzheimer’s Disease-Associated SORL1 Missense Variants

Abstract: SORL1 loss of function is associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk through increased Aβ peptide secretion. We expressed 10 maturation-defective rare missense SORL1 variants in HEK cells and showed that decreasing growing temperature led to a significant increase in the maturation of the encoded protein SorLA for 6/10. In edited hiPSC carrying two of these variants, maturation of the protein was restored partially by decreasing the culture temperature and was associated with concomitant decrease in Aβ secretion. Correcting SorLA maturation in the context of maturation-defective missense variants could thus be a relevant strategy to improve SorLA protective function against AD.

Making the world open again. The US State Department's thwarted first steps towards global neoliberalization during the Great Depression and World War II

Abstract: Given that neoliberal rationality implies the economic opening of state spaces in a borderless global market, this article proposes a critical reassessment of the origins of actually existing neoliberalism, with the twofold aim of addressing the empirical shortcomings of the conventional narrative and specifying the conditions of the emergence of neoliberalization. The present authors demonstrate how the US Department of State implemented a foreign economic policy between 1933 and 1947 which constituted one of the first neoliberal experiments of the twentieth century, engendering the hotbed of transatlantic neoliberalization which unfolded, albeit incompletely, in the following decades. This revisitation of the origins of neoliberalization has, in turn, enabled a theoretical reframing of the neoliberal spatiality, intersecting multiple stream framework analysis and the neo-institutionalist approach, in order to highlight the complexity of the factors responsible for the emergence of political neoliberalism in the context of the global crisis of the 1930s and 1940s.

O’Estrucan Ports, Where Are Thou ? Multiproxy sedimentological investigation of the Orbetello Lagoon

Abstract: Technical improvements at the end of the Bronze Age led to the rise of a 1rst generation of major sea powers around the Mediterranean Sea, such as Etruria in modern Italy. The Etruscan coast was the fringed by a series of large lagoons. Only one survives today: the lagoon of Orbetello. The lagoon is preserved by two subparallel sand spits that connect former Argentario island to mainland Italy, as situation that today protects it from rapid infilling. A third sand spit, in the middle of the lagoon, hosts the Etruscan city of Orbetello. Today, three canals connect the lagoon to the sea. A massive phase of eutrophication driven by the ingress of fertilizers has plagued the lagoon in late 20th Century. Eutrophication at times has spurred fish and bird kills, and the release of mercury in the water column. Major contingency plans have been implemented to fight off eutrophication, with various success.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; However little is known of the lagoon management and the evolution of Orbetello before the 17th century CE. Nonetheless, the wealth of the city and the health of its lagoon have been tightly related during the past three millennia. To track this coevolution, a large team of researcher has been assembled to conduct an analysis of the lagoon sediments using XRF scanning of cored sediments, SMIR, Rock Eval, hyperspectral imaging of chromatic pigments, analysis of mercury and phosphorus content, ostracods and pollen assemblages, to document the links between sediment facies, eutrophication and salinity crises, as a result of successive phases of rise and demise of lagoon management over the past three millennia. Here, we focus on the sub-bottom imaging conducted in the very shallow (< 1.5m) waters of this extensive (30 km2) lagoon. The Exail Echoes 10 000 sub-bottom profiler reveals individual layers that can be traced across the lagoon, allowing stratigraphic correlations between cores, and highlighting the environmental significance of the sedimentary facies. Acoustic imaging using a 3.5 kHz Chirp systems from Exail (Haliotis R/V) was conducted offshore to document the architecture of the sand spits protecting the lagoon. The architecture of the deposits, 14C, OSL, and U-Th dating reveal that the lagoon results from the drowning of strandplains that started forming on both side of the older, central sand spit, at the end of the postglacial transgression. Drowning accompanied the final rise in sea level over the past 6.5 ka, forming two lagoons on both sides of the central spit. These initial lagoons eventually coalesced after drowning the central sand spit. Continuation of the lagoon level rise since Antiquity led to the flooding of Bronze Age, Etruscan and Roman settlements. Sub-bottom imaging in the lagoon reveals buried structures possibly used for navigation and salinity control. Sedimentation is marked by an alternation of black, shelly organic silty clays and decimeter-thick layers of broken shells. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the cores capture up to five millennia of sedimentation, with a sharp decrease in sedimentation rates four millennia ago.

Chapter 10. An emerging final particle

Abstract: Turn-taking is one of the contexts leading to innovative language use. In this article, I will explore the relationship between the emergence of grammatical patterns and intersubjectivity. Final particles belong to the category of linguistic expressions that generate the production of interactional grammar. After reviewing the various meanings of final quoi in French dictionaries, I will test the five principles of grammaticalization, namely layering, divergence, specialization, persistence and decategorization and I will try to show that the evolution of the particle cannot be restricted to the grammaticalization process.

High-resolution grain-size analysis and non-destructive hyperspectral imaging of sediments from the Gaoping canyon levee to establish past typhoon and monsoon activities affecting Taiwan during the late Holocene

Abstract: Non-destructive and high-resolution hyperspectral analyses are widely used in planetary and environmental sciences and in mining exploration. In recent years, the scanning method was applied to lacustrine sediment cores in complement to XRF core scanning. However, this approach was rarely applied to marine sediments. The Gaoping canyon, located south of Taiwan island, is connected to the Gaoping River and is a very active canyon with large sediment transfer capacity. In particular, about 4 typhoon-driven hyperpycnal flows have been recorded by mooring systems in every recent year. Studying their frequency and intensity responding to past climate and environmental changes is a key to understand future tropical storm frequency and related climate variability. Core MD18-3574 was collected on the western levee of the Gaoping canyon and displays numerous fine laminations (millimetric to centimetric) recording the deposition of the gravity flows occurring in the canyon and on the slope. In this study, we combined non-destructive analyses such as XRF core scanning and hyperspectral imaging with high-resolution grain size and XRD bulk mineralogy analyses to understand the sedimentological and geochemical variations at the scale of the laminae. Core MD18-3574 sediments consist mainly of fine silt, presenting an alternance of fine-grained and coarse-grained laminations. The average mean grain size is 13.4 &#181;m ranging from 9 to 20.5 &#181;m. Thick coarser grained laminations are showing grain size distributions and asymmetric sorting of typical turbidite sequence. Grain size and bulk mineralogy display great visual and statistical correlation with XRF (Fe/Ca, Si/Al) and hyperspectral proxies (sediment darkness (Rmean), Clay_R2200). Principal component analyses (PCA) demonstrates that darker laminae are composed of coarser sediments with high Si/Al (quartz and feldspar-rich) and Clay_R2200 values and low Fe/Ca (calcite-rich) resulting from gravity flows.&#160; Inversely, lighter laminae consist of finer sediments with low Si/Al (muscovite and illite-rich), Clay_R2200 and high Fe/Ca resulting from hemipelagic deposition. Thus, such interpretation was extended to the core scale to identify gravity flows deposits layers. Moderate intensity tropical storm frequency is decreasing since the last 4 ka in response to the sea surface temperature (SST) decrease and enhanced East Asian winter monsoon since the middle Holocene. Tropical storm intensity increased after 2 ka in La Ni&#241;a like periods indicating that the surge of super-typhoons hitting Taiwan could be triggered by El Ni&#241;o Southern Oscillation (ENSO) state and variability. We can then assess that tropical storm activity is controlled by SST, monsoon system and ENSO conditions. This study brings new insights in the prediction of the ongoing climate change impacts on storms activity in the western Pacific Ocean.

A Simple Molecular Tool for the Assessment of Kidney Transplant Biopsies

Abstract: The Banff Classification for Allograft Pathology recommendations for the diagnosis of kidney transplant rejection includes molecular assessment of the transplant biopsy. However, implementation of molecular tools in clinical practice is still limited, partly due to the required expertise and financial investment. The reverse transcriptase multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (RT-MLPA) assay is a simple, rapid, and inexpensive assay that permits simultaneous evaluation of a restricted gene panel using paraffin-embedded tissue blocks. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a RT-MLPA assay for diagnosis and classification of rejection.A retrospective cohort of 220 kidney transplant biopsies from two centers, which included 52 antibody-mediated rejection, 51 T-cell-mediated rejection, and 117 no-rejection controls, was assessed. A 17-gene panel was identified on the basis of relevant pathophysiological pathways. A support vector machine classifier was developed. A subset of 109 biopsies was also assessed using the Nanostring Banff Human Organ Transplant panel to compare the two assays.The support vector machine classifier train and test accuracy scores were 0.84 and 0.83, respectively. In the test cohort, the F1 score for antibody-mediated rejection, T-cell-mediated rejection, and control were 0.88, 0.86, and 0.69, respectively. Using receiver-operating characteristic curves, the area under the curve for class predictions was 0.96, 0.89, and 0.91, respectively, with a weighted average at 0.94. Classifiers' performances were highest for antibody-mediated rejection diagnosis with 94% correct predictions, compared with 88% correct predictions for control biopsies and 60% for T-cell-mediated rejection biopsies. Gene expression levels assessed by RT-MLPA and Nanostring were correlated: r = 0.68, P < 0.001. Equivalent gene expression profiles were obtained with both assays in 81% of the samples.The 17-gene panel RT-MLPA assay, developed here for formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded kidney transplant biopsies, classified kidney transplant rejection with an overall accurate prediction ratio of 0.83.This article contains a podcast at https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/www.asn-online.org/media/podcast/CJASN/2023_04_10_CJN10100822.mp3.