Self-regulatory strategies and well-being. Retaining a sense of mastery and satisfaction in old age

in Gerontologist (2009), 49(S2), 8-8

Les relations école-famille au Luxembourg sous la loupe… Analyse des représentations et pratiques parentales sous les focales socio-économique et linguistique

in Actes du XII congrès d’éducation familiale de l’AIFREF (2009)

Sensor Placement for Fault Diagnosis Based On Causal Computations

in Fault Detection, Supervision and Safety of Technical Processes (2009)

This work develops a methodology to solve the sensor placement problem for fault detection and isolation. The proposed methodology is suitable to handle highly non-linear and large scale systems since it ... [more ▼]

This work develops a methodology to solve the sensor placement problem for fault detection and isolation. The proposed methodology is suitable to handle highly non-linear and large scale systems since it is based on structural models. Furthermore, causality is assigned in those variable-equation relations that the variable can be computed from the equation in order to guarantee the computability of the unknown variables in the residual generation design. Finally, the developed methodology is applied on an air compressor model. [less ▲]

Tumor necrosis factor alpha induces gamma-glutamyltransferase expression via nuclear factor-kappaB in cooperation with Sp1

in Biochemical Pharmacology (2009), 77(3), 397-411

Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) cleaves the gamma-glutamyl moiety of glutathione (GSH), an endogenous antioxidant, and is involved in mercapturic acid metabolism and in cancer drug resistance when ... [more ▼]

Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) cleaves the gamma-glutamyl moiety of glutathione (GSH), an endogenous antioxidant, and is involved in mercapturic acid metabolism and in cancer drug resistance when overexpressed. Moreover, GGT converts leukotriene (LT) C4 into LTD4 implicated in various inflammatory pathologies. So far the effect of inflammatory stimuli on regulation of GGT expression and activity remained to be addressed. We found that the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) induced GGT promoter transactivation, mRNA and protein synthesis, as well as enzymatic activity. Remicade, a clinically used anti-TNFalpha antibody, small interfering RNA (siRNA) against p50 and p65 nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) isoforms, curcumin, a well characterized natural NF-kappaB inhibitor, as well as a dominant negative inhibitor of kappaB alpha (IkappaBalpha), prevented GGT activation at various levels, illustrating the involvement of this signaling pathway in TNFalpha-induced stimulation. Over-expression of receptor of TNFalpha-1 (TNFR1), TNFR-associated factor-2 (TRAF2), TNFR-1 associated death domain (TRADD), dominant negative (DN) IkappaBalpha or NF-kappaB p65 further confirmed GGT promoter activation via NF-kappaB. Linker insertion mutagenesis of 536 bp of the proximal GGT promoter revealed NF-kappaB and Sp1 binding sites at -110 and -78 relative to the transcription start site, responsible for basal GGT transcription. Mutation of the NF-kappaB site located at -110 additionally inhibited TNFalpha-induced promoter induction. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays confirmed mutagenesis results and further demonstrated that TNFalpha treatment induced in vivo binding of both NF-kappaB and Sp1, explaining increased GGT expression, and led to RNA polymerase II recruitment under inflammatory conditions. [less ▲]

Pourquoi Réfractaire n'est pas seulement un film ennuyeux

in Forum für Politik, Gesellschaft und Kultur in Luxemburg (2009), (289), 51--52

STIM1 but not STIM2 is an essential regulator of Ca2+ influx-mediated NADPH oxidase activity in neutrophil-like HL-60 cells

in Biochemical Pharmacology (2009), 78(5), 504-513

Extracellular Ca2+ entry, primarily mediated through store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE), is known to be a critical event for NADPH oxidase (NOX2) regulation in neutrophils. While defective NOX2 activity has ... [more ▼]

Extracellular Ca2+ entry, primarily mediated through store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE), is known to be a critical event for NADPH oxidase (NOX2) regulation in neutrophils. While defective NOX2 activity has been linked to various inflammatory diseases, regulatory mechanisms that control Ca2+ influx-induced NOX2 activation are poorly understood in SOCE. The role of STIM1, a Ca2+ sensor that transduces the store depletion signal to the plasma membrane, seems well established and supported by numerous studies in non-phagocytic cells. Here, in neutrophil-like HL-60 cells we used a siRNA approach to delineate the effect of STIM1 knock-down on NOX2 activity regulated by Ca2+ influx. Because the function of the STIM1 homolog, STIM2, is still unclear, we determined the consequence of STIM2 knock-down on Ca2+ and NOX2. STIM1 and STIM2 knock-down was effective and isoform specific when assayed by real-time PCR and Western blotting. Consistent with a unique role of STIM1 in the regulation of SOCE, STIM1, but not STIM2, siRNA significantly decreased Ca2+ influx induced by fMLF or the SERCA pump inhibitor thapsigargin. A redistribution of STIM1, originally localized intracellularly, near the plasma membrane was observed by confocal microscopy upon stimulation by fMLF. Inhibition of STIM1-induced SOCE led to a marked decrease in NOX2 activity while STIM2 siRNA had no effect. Thus, our results provide evidence for a role of STIM1 protein in the control of Ca2+ influx in neutrophils excluding a STIM2 involvement in this process. It also places STIM1 as a key modulator of NOX2 activity with a potential interest for anti-inflammatory pharmacological development. [less ▲]

On the Asymptotic Optimality of Opportunistic Norm-based User Selection with Hard SINR Constraint

in EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing (2009)

Direct gaze of photographs of female nudes influences startle in men

in International Journal of Psychophysiology (2009), 72(2), 111-114

Trinocular Ground System to Control UAVs

in 2009 IEEE-RSJ INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INTELLIGENT ROBOTS AND SYSTEMS (2009)

In this paper we introduce a real-time trinocular system to control rotary wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles based on the 3D information extracted by cameras located on the ground. The algorithm is based on ... [more ▼]

In this paper we introduce a real-time trinocular system to control rotary wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles based on the 3D information extracted by cameras located on the ground. The algorithm is based on key features onboard the UAV to estimate the vehicle's position and orientation. The algorithm is validated against onboard sensors and known 3D positions, showing that the proposed camera configuration robustly estimates the helicopter's position with an adequate resolution, improving the position estimation, especially the height estimation. The obtained results show that the proposed algorithm is suitable to complement or replace the GPS-based position estimation in situations where GPS information is unavailable or where its information is inaccurate, allowing the vehicle to develop tasks at low heights, such as autonomous landing, take-off, and positioning, using the extracted 3D information as a visual feedback to the flight controller. [less ▲]

Education between accountability and responsibility

in Simons, M.; Olssen, M.; Peters, M. (Eds.) Re-reading education policies: A handbook Studying the policy agenda of the 21st century. (2009)