In situ fast ellipsometric analysis of repetitive surface phenomena

We present an ellipsometric technique and ellipsometric analysis of repetitive phenomena, based on the experimental arrangement of conventional phase modulated ellipsometers (PME) c onceived to study fast surface phenomena in repetitive processes such as periodic and triggered experiments. Phase modulated ellipsometry is a highly sensitive surface characterization technique that is widely used in the real-time study of several processes such as thin film deposition and etching. However, fast transient phenomena cannot be analyzed with this technique because precision requirements limit the data acquisition rate to about 25 Hz. The presented new ellipsometric method allows the study of fast transient phenomena in repetitive processes with a time resolution that is mainly limited by the data acquisition system. As an example, we apply this new method to the study of surface changes during plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of amorphous silicon in a modulated radio frequency discharge of SiH4. This study has revealed the evolution of the optical parameters of the film on the millisecond scale during the plasma on and off periods. The presented ellipsometric method extends the capabilities of PME arrangements and permits the analysis of fast surface phenomena that conventional PME cannot achieve.

Using flow cytometry for in situ monitoring of antimicrobial compound production in the biocontrol bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens CHA0

Pseudomonas fluorescens strain CHA0 is able to protect plants against a variety of pathogens, notably by producing the two antimicrobial compounds 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) and pyoluteorin (PLT). The regulation of the expression of these compounds is affected by many biotic factors, such as fungal pathogens, rhizosphere bacteria as well as plant species. Therefore, the influence of some plant phenolic compounds on the expression of DAPG and PLT biosynthetic genes has been tested using GFP-based reporter, monitored by standard fluometry and flow cytometry. In situ experiments were also performed with cucumber plants. We found that several plant metabolites such as IAA and umbelliferone are able to modify significantly the expression of DAPG and PLT. The use of flow cytometry with autofluorescents proteins seems to be a promising method to study rhizobacteria-plant interactions.

The Challenge of Housing for Ex-Offenders, Data Download, Iowa Department of Corrections, September 2010

On October 5, 2010 there were 25,829 probationers and parolees (including special sentence) under community-based corrections field supervision statewide. As shown in the pie charts below, LSI-R offender assessments show that a sizeable percent of offenders are dissatisfied with their living accommodations – particularly for higher risk offenders.

Ex-Offenders in Employment, 2005

Currently, Iowa law lacks statutory language that would include Iowans with a criminal history as a protected class (this lack of coverage mirrors most of the nation). However, Iowa has been shown to parallel EEOC guidance that states that an employer may exclude an individual from employment on the basis of a conviction record only if the employer’s decision was “justified by business necessity.”

Sceaux détachés (originaux en cire), cachets, armoiries, jetons et médailles, dessinés ou gravés. XI 356 numéros (ex-libris armoriés, sceaux dessinés ou gravés, cachets, armoiries, dessins de jetons et médailles, etc.).

Contient : N° 53 Sceau de Catherine d'Alençon, duchesse de Bavière (1416) ; Nos 56 et 57 Sceaux de Jean, duc de Calabre et de Lorraine (31 octobre 1465) et de son fils aîné ; N° 58 Sceau de Marguerite, reine d'Angleterre (1470) ; N° 59 Sceau de Bernardin Bochetel, évêque de Rennes (1564) ; N° 61 « S. Petri, Dei gratia archiepiscopi Tholosani » [Pierre V de Lion ?] ; Nos 62 et 64 Sceau de Robert d'Alençon, comte du Perche (1370 et 1375) ; Nos 72 et 81 Médailles du roi René (dessins) ; N° 73 Sceau de Jeanne, reine de Jérusalem, Sicile et Aragon (1498), avec contre-sceau ; N° 74 Sceau et contre-sceau de Louis de France, duc d'Anjou et roi de Sicile ; N° 75 Sceau d'Isabelle, comtesse du Maine et de Guise (1462), avec contresceau ; N° 76 Sceau et contre-sceau de René d'Anjou, roi de Sicile et de Jérusalem ; N° 77 « [S. Nicolai] ducis Calabrie, Lotharingie, A[ndegavie]..., » avec contre-sceau ; N° 78 Sceau de Pierre, comte d'Alençon, seigneur de Fougères, vicomte de Beaumont (1378), avec contre-sceau ; Nos 79 et 82 Sceau et contre-sceau de Louis II, roi de Jérusalem et de Sicile et comte d'Anjou (1407 et 1408) ; Nos 80 et 88 Sceau et contre-sceau de Robert, comte d'Artois ; N° 84 « S. novum Ludovici, regis Fran. filii, ducis Andegavensis et comitis Cenomannensis, » avec contre-sceau (1374) ; N° 85 Sceau et contre-sceau de Catherine, fille aînée du duc d'Alençon, « comtesse de Montfort, dame de Sonois » ; N° 86 Sceau et contre-sceau de Charles, comte du Maine (1451) ; N° 87 « Scel René d'Anjou, chlr., baron et s. de Mézières et de Thury, » avec contre-sceau ; N° 89 Sceau de Yolande reine de Jérusalem et de Sicile (1428) ; N° 94 Sceau d'Henri de Carinthie, évêque de Troyes ; cf. vol. 3101, n° 8 ; N° 101 Sceau de Charles, comte d'Alençon (1361) ; N° 112 Sceau d'Antoine de Cravant, abbé de la Trinité de Vendôme ; cf. vol. 3113, n° 7 ; N° 113 « Sigillum Johannis, episcopi Silvanectensis » [Jean Neveu † 1499, ou Jean Calveau † 1522] ; N° 115 Sceau de Jean de Tinteniac du Percher, abbé de Saint-Aubin († 1525) ; N° 120 « Scel Pierre, bastart d'Alençon » (1419) ; N° 128 « Constras. Ludovici, regis condam Francor. filii, ducis Andegavie et comit. Cenamanie. » ; N° 154 Sceau de Mathieu, évêque de Troyes (1169-1180) ; N° 257 Sceau de René, duc d'Alençon (1478)

Noctes atticae. Volume 1 / . Ex editione Jacobi Gronovii, cum notis et interpretatione in usum Delphini, variis lectionibus, notis variorum, recensu editionum et codicum et indice locupletissimo, accurate recensitae. Auli Gellii

[Nuits attiques]

Procedure for human saphenous veins ex vivo perfusion and external reinforcement.

The mainstay of contemporary therapies for extensive occlusive arterial disease is venous bypass graft. However, its durability is threatened by intimal hyperplasia (IH) that eventually leads to vessel occlusion and graft failure. Mechanical forces, particularly low shear stress and high wall tension, are thought to initiate and to sustain these cellular and molecular changes, but their exact contribution remains to be unraveled. To selectively evaluate the role of pressure and shear stress on the biology of IH, an ex vivo perfusion system (EVPS) was created to perfuse segments of human saphenous veins under arterial regimen (high shear stress and high pressure). Further technical innovations allowed the simultaneous perfusion of two segments from the same vein, one reinforced with an external mesh. Veins were harvested using a no-touch technique and immediately transferred to the laboratory for assembly in the EVPS. One segment of the freshly isolated vein was not perfused (control, day 0). The two others segments were perfused for up to 7 days, one being completely sheltered with a 4 mm (diameter) external mesh. The pressure, flow velocity, and pulse rate were continuously monitored and adjusted to mimic the hemodynamic conditions prevailing in the femoral artery. Upon completion of the perfusion, veins were dismounted and used for histological and molecular analysis. Under ex vivo conditions, high pressure perfusion (arterial, mean = 100 mm Hg) is sufficient to generate IH and remodeling of human veins. These alterations are reduced in the presence of an external polyester mesh.

Ex-Vivo Ultransonographic Control Of Resection Margin During Partial Nephrectomy

Introduction & Objectives: Surgery remains the treatment of choice for localized renal cell neoplasia. While radical nephrectomy was long considered as gold standard, partial nephrectomy (PN) has widened its indications over the past twodecades and has shown oncological results equivalent to radical nephrectomy for small tumors. Moreover, it is considered superior to radical nephrectomy in terms of non-cancer related mortality. The role of negative surgical margin has been widely debated. Intraoperative frozen section analysis has been shown to be unreliable, expensive, time-consuming and not well correlated to final pathology. The goal of the present study was to assess the correlation of intraoperative exvivo ultrasonographic (US) evaluation of resection margin to definitive pathology in patients undergoing PN.Materials & Methods: An observational study was carried out in ours 2 institutions from February 2008 to October 2010. Patients undergoing PN for T1-T2 renal tumors were included. Ex vivo US evaluation was performed. Considering availability of US engine, not all consecutive eligible patients were included. PN was undertaken either by open surgery or laparoscopic access in a standardized technique. The "minimal healthy tissue margin" technique was applied. Once resected, the specimen was kept in a saline solution and US determination of tumor margins was performed. Sequential images were captured in order to evaluate the whole capsule.Results: Twenty-two patients (9 women, age 63±11 years[46-78]) were included in the present analysis. Open or laparoscopic PN was performed in 19 and 3 patients, respectively. Intraoperative ex-vivo US showed negative surgical margin in all cases except one, needing a complementary renal parenchyma resection. US duration ranged from 1 to 4 minutes, with a median time of 1 minute. Definitive histological analysis confirmed the presence of 3 angiomyolipoma, 15 clear cell carcinoma (11 pT1a,3 pT1b,1 pT2), 3 chromophobe carcinoma (1 pT1a,1 pT1b,1 pT2) and 1 pT1a type II papillary tumor. Mean tumor size was 3,4±2.1 cm [0,6-7,2]. Final pathology revealed R0 margins in all cases.Conclusions: Intraoperative ex-vivo US evaluation of resection margin in patients undergoing PN is feasible, time-efficient, well correlated to definitive pathological examination, and should be evaluated in further prospective trials.

Ex vivo Pulsatile Perfusion of Human Saphenous Veins Induces Intimal Hyperplasia and Increased Levels of the Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1.

Vessel wall trauma induces vascular remodeling processes including the development of intimal hyperplasia (IH). To assess the development of IH in human veins, we have used an ex vivo vein support system (EVVSS) allowing the perfusion of freshly isolated segments of saphenous veins in the presence of a pulsatile flow which reproduced arterial conditions regarding shear stress, flow rate and pressure during a period of 7 and 14 days. Compared to the corresponding freshly harvested human veins, histomorphometric analysis showed a significant increase in the intimal thickness which was already maximal after 7 days of perfusion. Expression of the endothelial marker CD31 demonstrated the presence of endothelium up to 14 days of perfusion. In our EVVSS model, the activity as well as the mRNA and protein expression levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, the inhibitor of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), were increased after 7 days of perfusion, whereas the expression levels of tPA and uPA were not altered. No major change was observed between 7 and 14 days of perfusion. These data show that our newly developed EVVSS is a valuable setting to study ex vivo remodeling of human veins submitted to a pulsatile flow.

chartularium monasterii sancti Vincentii Cenomanensis, ordinis sancti Benedicti ; quod confecit idem Rogerius de Gaignieres partim ex chartulariis, partim ex chartis ad idem monasterium pertinentibus, quas comperire potuit et describere.

Rogerii de Gaignieres