Memoires du comte de Comminge.

Mode of access: Internet.

Mémoires sur Molière et sur Mme Guérin, sa veuve : suivis des Mémoires sur Baron et sur Mlle Lecouvreur /

The "Extrait des Mémoires de Madame Guérin , veuve de Molière" is an extract from "La fameuse comédienne, 1688," by Mme Boudin, also attributed to La Fontaine.

Louise de Valrose; ou, Mémoires d'une autrichienne.

Pub. originally with title: Les malheurs de l'amour.

The mc2-CMX vaccine induces an enhanced immune response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis compared to Bacillus Calmette-Guérin but with similar lung inflammatory effects

Although the attenuated Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine has been used since 1921, tuberculosis (TB) control still proceeds at a slow pace. The main reason is the variable efficacy of BCG protection against TB among adults, which ranges from 0-80%. Subsequently, the mc2-CMX vaccine was developed with promising results. Nonetheless, this recombinant vaccine needs to be compared to the standard BCG vaccine. The objective of this study was to evaluate the immune response induced by mc2-CMX and compare it to the response generated by BCG. BALB/c mice were immunised with both vaccines and challenged with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). The immune and inflammatory responses were evaluated by ELISA, flow cytometry, and histopathology. Mice vaccinated with mc2-CMX and challenged with Mtb induced an increase in the IgG1 and IgG2 levels against CMX as well as recalled specific CD4+ T-cells that produced T-helper 1 cytokines in the lungs and spleen compared with BCG vaccinated and challenged mice. Both vaccines reduced the lung inflammatory pathology induced by the Mtb infection. The mc2-CMX vaccine induces a humoral and cellular response that is superior to BCG and is efficiently recalled after challenge with Mtb, although both vaccines induced similar inflammatory reductions.

Efecto del tratamiento con bacilo de calmette-guérin sobre un modelo in vitro 3D de carcinoma escamoso de cabeza y cuello

Tesis inédita presentada en la Universidad Europea de Madrid. Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas. Programa de Doctorado en Biomedicina y Ciencias de la Salud

The effect of data sources and quality on the predictive capacity of CLIMEX models: an assessment of Teleonemia scrupulosa and Octotoma scabripennis for the biocontrol of Lantana camara in Australia

Understanding the effects of different types and quality of data on bioclimatic modeling predictions is vital to ascertaining the value of existing models, and to improving future models. Bioclimatic models were constructed using the CLIMEX program, using different data types – seasonal dynamics, geographic (overseas) distribution, and a combination of the two – for two biological control agents for the major weed Lantana camara L. in Australia. The models for one agent, Teleonemia scrupulosa Stål (Hemiptera:Tingidae) were based on a higher quality and quantity of data than the models for the other agent, Octotoma scabripennis Guérin-Méneville (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Predictions of the geographic distribution for Australia showed that T. scrupulosa models exhibited greater accuracy with a progressive improvement from seasonal dynamics data, to the model based on overseas distribution, and finally the model combining the two data types. In contrast, O. scabripennis models were of low accuracy, and showed no clear trends across the various model types. These case studies demonstrate the importance of high quality data for developing models, and of supplementing distributional data with species seasonal dynamics data wherever possible. Seasonal dynamics data allows the modeller to focus on the species response to climatic trends, while distributional data enables easier fitting of stress parameters by restricting the species envelope to the described distribution. It is apparent that CLIMEX models based on low quality seasonal dynamics data, together with a small quantity of distributional data, are of minimal value in predicting the spatial extent of species distribution.

Nitric Oxide Is Involved in Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guerin-Activated Jagged1 and Notch1 Signaling.

Pathogenic mycobacteria have evolved unique strategies to survive within the hostile environment of macrophages. Modulation of key signaling cascades by NO, generated by the host during infection, assumes critical importance in overall cell-fate decisions. We show that NO is a critical factor in Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin-mediated Notch1 activation, as the generation of activated Notch1 or expression of Notch1 target genes matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) or Hes1 was abrogated in macrophages derived from inducible NO synthase (iNOS) knockout (iNOS(-/-)), but not from wild-type, mice. Interestingly, expression of the Notch1 ligand Jagged1 was compromised in M. bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin-stimulated iNOS(-/-) macrophages, and loss of Jagged1 expression or Notch1 signaling could be rescued by NO donors. Signaling perturbations or genetic approaches implicated that robust expression of MMP-9 or Hes1 required synergy and cross talk between TLR2 and canonical Notch1-PI3K cascade. Further, CSL/RBP-Jk contributed to TLR2-mediated expression of MMP-9 or Hes1. Correlative evidence shows that, in a murine model for CNS tuberculosis, this mechanism operates in vivo only in brains derived from WT but not from iNOS(-/-) mice. Importantly, we demonstrate the activation of Notch1 signaling in vivo in granulomatous lesions in the brains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected human patients with tuberculous meningitis. Current investigation identifies NO as a pathological link that modulates direct cooperation of TLR2 with Notch1-PI3K signaling or Jagged1 to regulate specific components of TLR2 responses. These findings provide new insights into mechanisms by which Notch1, TLR2, and NO signals are integrated in a cross talk that modulates a defined set of effector functions in macrophages.

Cell versus message level performances in ATM networks

The goal of this paper is to provide some insight into the relations that exist between cell level and message level performance guarantees in the context of ATM networks. Cell level guarantees are typically what the network is capable of providing, while message level guarantees are the ones of interest to users. It is, therefore, important to understand how the two are related, and which factors influence this relation. There are many different performance measures that are of importance, and in this paper we try to touch on the (three) most relevant ones. This includes comparing cell and message loss probabilities, average cell and message delays, and cell and message jitter. Specifically, we show that cell and message loss probabilities can exhibit significant differences, which strongly depend on traffic characteristics such as peak rate and burst size, i.e., for a fixed cell loss probability, the message loss probability can greatly vary when peak rate and burst size change. One reason for this sensitivity, is that message loss depends on what happen to all the cells in a message. For delay and jitter, we also find that peak rate and burst size play a role in determining the relation between cell and message performance. However, this sensitivity is not as acute as with losses since message delay and jitter are typically determined by the performance seen by only one cell, the last cell in a message. In the paper, we provide quantitative examples that illustrate the range of behaviors and identify the impact of different parameters.

The effect of traffic shaping in efficiently providing end-to-end performance guarantees

This paper reports new results concerning the capabilities of a family of service disciplines aimed at providing per-connection end-to-end delay (and throughput) guarantees in high-speed networks. This family consists of the class of rate-controlled service disciplines, in which traffic from a connection is reshaped to conform to specific traffic characteristics, at every hop on its path. When used together with a scheduling policy at each node, this reshaping enables the network to provide end-to-end delay guarantees to individual connections. The main advantages of this family of service disciplines are their implementation simplicity and flexibility. On the other hand, because the delay guarantees provided are based on summing worst case delays at each node, it has also been argued that the resulting bounds are very conservative which may more than offset the benefits. In particular, other service disciplines such as those based on Fair Queueing or Generalized Processor Sharing (GPS), have been shown to provide much tighter delay bounds. As a result, these disciplines, although more complex from an implementation point-of-view, have been considered for the purpose of providing end-to-end guarantees in high-speed networks. In this paper, we show that through ''proper'' selection of the reshaping to which we subject the traffic of a connection, the penalty incurred by computing end-to-end delay bounds based on worst cases at each node can be alleviated. Specifically, we show how rate-controlled service disciplines can be designed to outperform the Rate Proportional Processor Sharing (RPPS) service discipline. Based on these findings, we believe that rate-controlled service disciplines provide a very powerful and practical solution to the problem of providing end-to-end guarantees in high-speed networks.

Estudio preliminar sobre el comportamiento reproductivo de vacas de doble propósito durante período parto-concepción en el municipio de Matiguás, departamento de Matagalpa

El presente estudio se realizó con el objetivo de estudiar el comportamiento reproductivo de vacas de doble propósito durante el período parto–concepción en el municipio de Matiguás, departamento de Matagalpa considerando factores como, raza, número de parto, condición corporal y localidad, Sobre el comportamiento reproductivo en ganado con encaste Pardo Suizo, Holstein y Cebú; bajo condiciones del trópico húmedo en fincas ubicadas en 7 localidades del municipio de Matiguás departamento de Matagalpa. Además se utilizó una base de registros para analizar y clasificar a las vacas en cuanto a su condición corporal posparto, número de parto y localidad. Se analizaron 33 registros reproductivos correspondientes a vacas preñadas de las 106 vacas consideradas en estudio. Las variables bajo estudio fueron intervalo parto concepción (IPC), intervalo entre parto (IEP) y distocia. En los análisis se utilizó el procedimiento de mínimos cuadrados y separación de medias por el método Duncan para evaluar el efecto de la raza, número de parto, condición corporal posparto y localidad, sobre las varia bles IPC e IEP. En cuanto a la variable distocia no se evaluó en los análisis debido a que no presento la suficiente prevalencia para ser considerada estadísticamente. Este análisis mostró un efecto no significativo (P> 0.05) de los factores considerados sobre las variables IPC e IEP. Las medias de mínimos cuadrados obtenidas fueron 87.54 +/- 18.57 días de IPC, 367.91 +/- 18.99 días de IEP y 2% de distocia. En lo que respecta a la prevalencia de patologías del tracto reproductivo se encontraron: 7% de re tención placentaria, 3% deprolapsos vaginales, 3% de folículos persistentes y 1% de atresia ovárica.

Efecto de diferentes niveles de insumos y tipos de sombra sobre el comportamiento de las principales plagas del cultivo de café, ciclo 2006-2007

El estudio se realizó en parcelas experimentales establecidas en el centro experimental “Jardín Botánico”, UNICAFE y en el centro experimental “Campos Azules”, INTA, ubicado en Masatepe, Masaya en el periodo comprendido de Febrero 2006 a Enero 2007. El objetivo fue estudiar el efecto de las interacciones de cuatro combinaciones de árboles de sombra ( Simarouba glauca, Tabebuia rosea, Inga laurina y Samanea saman) y pleno sol, con cuatro niveles de insumo (convencional intensivo, convencional extensivo, orgánico intensivo y orgánico extensivo), sobre el comportamiento de las principales plagas y enfermedades y su influencia sobre el rendimiento del cultivo del café. En total se evaluaron 14 tratamientos, en cada parcela se evaluaron 15 plantas distribuidas en 3 sitios de 5 plantas cada uno. Los muestreos se realizaron mensualmente y las variables evaluadas fueron incidencia de mancha de hierro, roya, antracnosis (hoja y bandola), incidencia deminador, broca, chasparria y rendimiento. Los resultados obtenidos demostraron que la enfermedad que tuvo mayor incidencia fue mancha de hierro que alcanzó incidencia entre 8.9% y 11.8% en los meses de Agosto y Octubre en los tratamientos convencional intensivo y convencional extensivo a pleno sol; los tratamientos menos afectados por la enfermedad fueron orgánico intensivo con sombra de I. laurina más S. glauca y con sombra de T. rosea y S. glauca. Otra enfermedad importante fue antracnosis y los tratamientos que presentaron mayor incidencia fueron los mismos más afectados por mancha de hierro, los tratamientos de menor incidencia fueron orgánico extensivo e intensivo con con sombra de I. laurina y S. saman. La roya se presentó en época seca y aproximadamente 50 días después de la época lluviosa, los tratamientos menos afectados fueron convencional intensivo y extensivo a pleno sol. La chasparria presentó su mayor incidencia en los meses de Septiembre y Octubre y los tratamientos que presentaron menor incidencia fueron orgánico intensivo con sombra de I. laurina más S. glauca y con sombra de T. rosea más S. glauca. El minador (Leucoptera coffeella Guérin-Méneville) se presentó en la época seca y la broca (Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari) en época de lluvias, para ambos no se encontró diferencias significativas entre los tratamientos. El rendimiento no mostró diferencias significativas entre los tratamientos ni entre réplicas.

Efeito protetor do BCG intradérmico em contatos de pacientes de hanseníase : estudo de caso-controle

O presente estudo se propôs a determinar o efeito protetor da vacinação intradérmica com BCG (bacilo e Calmette-Guérin) em contatos de pacientes de hanseníase através do desenho de estudo caso-controle. Selecionou-se 65 casos e 904 controles, de zero a 29 anos de idade, provenientes de uma população base de contatos de pacientes de hanseníase residentes no Município e Área Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro (área endêmica de hanseníase). De ambos os grupos obteve-se informações quanto a exposição ao BCC (presença ou ausência de cicatriz vacinal), idade, sexo, tipo de contato, parentesco e forma clínica do caso primário. Informações adicionais do caso são acessíveis tais como: forma clínica, bacterioscopia, Mitsuda e grau de incapacidade. Realizou-se análise não pareada dos dados onde a presença de cicatriz de BCG mostrou-se negativamente associada com hanseníase indicando uma eficácia protetora de 59% (95% I.C. = 29 k -77%). A análise estratificada não revelou que as variáveis idade, sexo, tipo de contato, parentesco e forma clínica do caso primário introduziram confusão na avaliação da eficácia vacinal. Discute-se a adequação do desenho de estudo tipo caso-controle para a avaliação de eficácia vacinal em doença crônica, as implicações dos resultados e sua importância para a atividade de vigilância de contatos no Programa de Controle da Hanseníase.

Avaliação do consumo alimentar no período reprodutivo e variação de peso no pós-parto

O presente estudo tem como tema central o ganho de peso e o consumo alimentar no período reprodutivo. A tese está dividida em três partes: i) revisão da literatura científica sobre os fatores de risco para o ganho de peso excessivo na gestação e para a sua retenção no pós-parto; ii) análise quantitativa e qualitativa do consumo alimentar (energia, nutrientes e alimentos) do período gestacional para o pós-parto; e iii) avaliação prospectiva da associação entre a dieta hiperproteica (≥ 1.2 g/kg) e a variação de peso pós-gestacional. A revisão da literatura apontou como principais determinantes da variação de peso no pós-parto os seguintes fatores: ganho de peso gestacional, peso pré-gestacional, dieta, atividade física, lactação, idade, escolaridade, renda, paridade e raça. As partes ii e iii correspondem a dois artigos, sendo que a população do estudo empregada nas duas análises foi baseada em uma coorte de mulheres no pós-parto atendidas no Centro Municipal de Saúde (CMS) Marcolino Candau, localizado no Município do Rio de Janeiro. Dentre as 709 mulheres convidadas para participar da pesquisa, 479 ingressaram na coorte. As mulheres foram recrutadas através dos serviços de pré-natal e na rotina pediátrica de imunização do BCG, oferecidos pelo CMS, e imediatamente após o parto, na maternidade central de referência. A coleta de dados ocorreu entre maio de 1999 e abril de 2001, sendo 15 meses de recrutamento e 9 meses de seguimento. As mulheres foram entrevistadas aos 15 dias, 2, 6 e 9 meses do pós-parto. Foram consideradas elegíveis para as duas analises as mulheres com idade entre 18 e 45 anos de idade, entrevistadas até 30 dias do pós-parto, sem doenças crônicas pré-existentes, com gravidez de 35 ou mais semanas gestacionais e sem gestação gemelar. O estudo sobre a composição da dieta do período gestacional para o pós-parto contou com 276 mulheres que responderam aos dois questionários de freqüência de consumo alimentar (QFCA) aplicados aos 15 dias e aos 6 meses do seguimento. Os resultados mostraram que as mulheres consumiram dietas mais energéticas na gravidez e aquelas que mais restringiram o consumo de energia no pós-parto, apresentaram um incremento na densidade de proteínas da dieta. As análises das medidas repetidos do peso foram realizadas para avaliar o efeito da dieta hiperproteica (≥ 1.2 g/kg) sobre a variação de peso no pós-parto, para as quais haviam dados de uma amostra de 430 mulheres. Os resultados mostraram que as mulheres com dieta hiperproteica perderam mais peso do que as mulheres com dieta normo ou hipoproteica (< 1.2 g/kg) (226 g/mês versus 123 g/mês). As duas analises indicam que um pequeno incremento no consumo de proteínas promove maior perda de peso. Estudos longitudinais futuros devem incluir avaliação relativa a segurança das dietas hiperproteicas no pós-parto.

Seroprevalence of Triatoma virus (Dicistroviridae: Cripaviridae) antibodies in Chagas disease patients

Background: Chagas disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, and humans acquire the parasite by exposure to contaminated feces from hematophagous insect vectors known as triatomines. Triatoma virus (TrV) is the sole viral pathogen of triatomines, and is transmitted among insects through the fecal-oral route and, as it happens with T. cruzi, the infected insects release the virus when defecating during or after blood uptake. Methods: In this work, we analysed the occurrence of anti-TrV antibodies in human sera from Chagas disease endemic and non-endemic countries, and developed a mathematical model to estimate the transmission probability of TrV from insects to man, which ranged between 0.00053 and 0.0015. Results: Our results confirm that people with Chagas disease living in Bolivia, Argentina and Mexico have been exposed to TrV, and that TrV is unable to replicate in human hosts. Conclusions: We presented the first experimental evidence of antibodies against TrV structural proteins in human sera.

How a different look at latency can help to develop novel diagnostics and vaccines against tuberculosis.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the most successful human pathogens. It kills every year approximately 1.5 - 2 million people, and at present a third of the human population is estimated to be infected. Fortunately, only a relatively small proportion of the infected individuals will progress to active disease, and most will maintain a latent infection. Although a latent infection is clinically silent and not contagious, it can reactivate to cause highly contagious pulmonary tuberculosis, the most prevalent form of the disease in adults. Therefore, a thorough understanding of latency and reactivation may help to develop novel control strategies against tuberculosis. The most widely held view is that the mycobacteria are imprisoned in granulomatous structures during latency, where they can survive in a non-replicating, dormant form until reactivation occurs. However, there is no hard data to sustain that the reactivating mycobacteria are indeed those that laid dormant within the granulomas. In this review an alternative model, based on evidence from early studies, as well as recent reports is presented, in which the latent mycobacteria reside outside granulomas, within non-macrophage cell types throughout the infected body. Potential implications for new diagnostic and vaccine design are discussed.