Actinic Prurigo in Singaporean Chinese: A Positive Association with HLA‐DRB1*03:01

Studies have reported the association of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes with susceptibility to develop actinic prurigo (AP) in Caucasians, but there were no studies in Asian populations, including the Chinese. Our study was performed to determine if AP is associated with susceptibility or protective HLA alleles or haplotypes in Singaporean Chinese. All Chinese patients diagnosed with AP at National Skin Center, Singapore, from January 2002 to April 2015 were invited to participate in the study. Clinical data and phototesting results were collated, and HLA typing was performed. Among 14 patients included, 11 were male and the mean age was 49.6 (37.9–61.3) years. All patients did not have a family history of AP and none had mucosal involvement, as such these clinical features differed from Caucasian AP patients. The frequency of DRB1*03:01 in AP patients was significantly higher compared to healthy controls (43% vs 16%, P = 0.022, odds ratio (OR) 3.89). Concurrently, the frequency of HLA‐B*58:01‐DRB1*03:01 haplotype was also significantly increased (25% vs 7%, P = 0.004, OR 4.23). In conclusion, HLA‐DRB1*03:01 was associated with AP in Singaporean Chinese patients. This novel allelic association may possibly be utilized as a biological marker to aid in the diagnosis of AP in Chinese patients.     

From stability to permeability of adhesive emulsion bilayers

Water drops dispersed in chloroform and stabilized with phospholipids become adhesive if a bad solvent for lipids, such as silicone oil, is added to the continuous phase. In this way, two sticking drops are separated by a bilayer of phospholipids. By using microfluidic technologies, we probe the stability and properties of such membranes likewise encountered in foams or vesicles. We first establish the stability diagram of adhering drop pairs as a function of the continuous phase composition. We found two regimes of destabilization of the bilayer. The first one concerns a competition between the dynamics of adhesion and the transport of surfactants toward the interfaces that leads to a dilute surfactant coverage. The second one corresponds to a dense surface coverage where the lifetime distribution of the bilayer exponentially decreases as a signature of a nucleation process. In the stable regime, we observe the propagation of adhesion among a concentrated collection of drops. This is another remarkable illustration of the suction consequence when two close deformable objects are pulled apart. Moreover, the present experimental strategy offers a novel way to study the phase diagrams of bilayers from a single phospholipid to a mixture of phospholipids. Indeed, we detect phase transitions at a liquid-liquid interface that are ruled by the amount of bad solvent. Finally, we probe the transport of water molecules through the bilayer and show that its permeability is linked to the adhesion energy that reflects its fluidity.     

Sur quelques récents résultats dans la théorie des surfaces algébriques

Sans résumé     

Synthèse de l'oxo-7 7H cyclohepta[b] pyridine et de quelques dérivés

This communication describes the synthesis of 7-one (7H) cyclohepta[b]pyridine and some derivatives (6,8-dimethyl; 8-methyl; 8-ethyl….). These compounds have been obtained by condensation of ketones with 2,3-diformylpyridine.     

The Surge of Metal–Organic-Framework (MOFs)-Based Electrodes as Key Elements in Electrochemically Driven Processes for the Environment

Metal–organic-frameworks (MOFs) are emerging materials used in the environmental electrochemistry community for Faradaic and non-Faradaic water remediation technologies. It has been concluded that MOF-based materials show improvement in performance compared to traditional (non-)faradaic materials. In particular, this review outlines MOF synthesis and their application in the fields of electron- and photoelectron-Fenton degradation reactions, photoelectrocatalytic degradations, and capacitive deionization physical separations. This work overviews the main electrode materials used for the different environmental remediation processes, discusses the main performance enhancements achieved via the utilization of MOFs compared to traditional materials, and provides perspective and insights for the further development of the utilization of MOF-derived materials in electrified water treatment.     

Dictums for problem solving and approximation in mathematical acoustics: examples involving low-frequency vibration and radiation

A sequence of dictums for mathematical acoustics is given representing opinions intended to be regarded as authoritative, but not necessarily universally agreed upon. The dictums are presented in the context of the detailed solution for a class of problems involving the forced vibration of a long cylinder protruding half-way into a half-space bounded by a compliant surface (impedance boundary) characterized by a spring constant. One limiting case corresponds to a cylinder vibrating within an infinite rigid baffle, and another limiting case corresponds to a vibrating cylinder on the compliant surface of an incompressible fluid. The second limiting case is identified as analogous to that of a floating half-submerged cylinder whose vibrations cause water waves to propagate over the surface. Attention is focused on vibrations at very low frequencies. Difficulties with insuring a causal solution are pointed out and dictums are given as to how one overcomes such difficulties. Various approximation techniques are described. The derivations involve application of the theory of complex variables and the method of matched asymptotic expansions, and the results include the apparent entrained mass in the near field of the cylinder and the radiation resistance per unit length experienced by the vibrating cylinder.     

The effect of topical anesthesia on vocal fold motion

The objective of this study was to determine if topical anesthesia to the larynx and pharynx affects vocal fold motion during dynamic voice evaluation with transnasal flexible endoscopy. Transnasal dynamic laryngeal examinations of 10 patients with no voice complaints were evaluated by five blinded fellowship-trained laryngologists. Each patient was examined before and after application of topical anesthetic. Reviewers rated briskness of right and left vocal fold movement and longitudinal tension on a visual analogue scale. Statistical comparisons were made between individual subject scores before and after anesthetic application. Inter-rater reliability was also assessed. No statistical difference was observed between subject scores before and after anesthetic application. Average intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.643 and 0.591 for pre- and postanesthesia scores, respectively. Application of topical anesthesia to the larynx and pharynx does not affect vocal fold motion.     

Elution behavior of unsaponifiable lipids with various capillary electrochromatographic stationary phases

Capillary electrochromatographic (CEC) separations of unsaponifiable lipids, tocopherols (T), tocotrienols (T3), and plant sterols were studied under various conditions. Investigated stationary phases include pentafluorophenylsilica (PFPS), triacontylsilica (TCS), and octadecylsilica (ODS) phases. A baseline separation of four sterols (ergosterol, lanosterol, sitosterol and stigmasterol) on ODS was achieved and their elution order was found to be dictated by side-chain structures. CEC of the tocol-derived compounds on PFPS in aqueous methanol yielded the most satisfactory results with complete resolution of all components eluting in the order deltaT3>beta3>gammaT3>epsilonP>alphaT3>deltaT>zeta2T>betaT>gammaT>alphaT, while a reversal in elution of the epsilonT-alphaT3 pair was observed in aqueous acetonitrile. CEC with a TCS phase in non-aqueous methanol led to a different elution pattern deltaT3>gammaT3>betaT3>alphaT3epsilonT>deltaT>(zeta2+gamma)T>betaT>alphaT, despite favorable resolution of the (gamma-zeta2)T pair along with the observation of inseparable(beta-gamma)T and (beta-gamma)T3 pairs in non-aqueous dimethylformamide. Non-aqueous acetonitrile mobile phases provided unique selectivity for the (gamma-zeta2)T pair and isomer separations on TCS. Variations in separation and retention factors of relevant antioxidant species with CEC variables were evaluated. Examples of CEC quantification of unsaponifiable fractions of rice bran oils and soybean oils are presented.