Abstract: Antisense agents and RNA interference agents useful for treating diseases and conditions the treatment of which can benefit from reducing the expression of double homeobox 4 and/or double homeobox 4c, more particularly facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Methods, uses and further products employing such agents are also described.

Abstract: An ionic nanocomposite comprising a nanomaterial comprising charged groups disposed on at least a portion of a surface of the nanomaterial and a polymer material comprising charged pendant group and/or end functionalized charged groups, where the charged groups of the nanomaterial and the charged pendant groups of the polymer material have opposite charges and the nanomaterial and polymer material are connected by one or more ionic bonds. A nanomaterial can be nanoparticles comprising sulfate groups disposed on at least a portion of the surface of the nanoparticles. The polymer material can be a polymer with pendant imidazolium groups. An ionic nanocomposite can be present as a film (e.g., a thin film). An ionic nanocomposite can be used in devices. A nanocomposite can be used in various coating application.

Abstract: This invention relates to a resonant frequency vibrational test and a method of subjecting a component to such a resonant frequency vibrational test.

Abstract: Antisense agents and RNA interference agents useful for treating diseases and conditions the treatment of which can benefit from reducing the expression of double homeobox 4 and/or double homeobox 4c, more particularly facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, are described. Methods, uses and further products employing such agents are also described.

Abstract: A nickel-boron coating deposited on a substrate which comprises nickel, boron and a material selected from bismuth, tin, tellurium, selenium, indium and gallium.

Abstract: The present invention is related to a method for indexing audio files comprising the steps of: i) for each audio file, collecting semantic descriptor of the audio file; ii) for each audio-file, generate perceptual information based upon audio content of the file; iii) based upon said perceptual information, generate perceptual descriptor in the form of string data for each audio-file; iv) for each file, create an index comprising both the semantic data and the perceptual descriptor.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to omniphobic surface coatings including a solution of fluor-modified polymer and crystalline and/or semi-crystalline polymer and/or inorganic nanoparticles. The disclosure further relates to biphilic substrate surfaces for heat exchangers, including 50-95% of the surface showing a first solid-liquid contact angle and 5 to 50% of the surface showing a second solid-liquid contact angle, wherein the second liquid-solid contact angle is at least 10° higher than first liquid-solid contact angle, and the surface area of second contact angle includes a multitude of discrete surface areas of second contact angle dispersed over the substrate surface.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to a superhydrophobic coating composition including a solution of crystalline and/or semi-crystalline polymer, for example polypropylene, and of an amorphous hydrophobic matrix polymer in a solvent. The coating is robust, resistant to wear, and may be translucent. The disclosure further relates to an article coated with a superhydrophobic coating composition as previously described and a process for preparing the same.

Abstract: The present invention is related to a method for determining distributed temperature variation of a few mode optical fiber comprising the steps of:—providing a few mode optical fiber;—enlighting a first end of said few mode optical fiber by means of a coherent light source;—determining the interference pattern of coherent light at a second end of the optical fiber;—selecting one maximum of intensity at the second end of the optical fiber by spatially filtering the enlighting at the first end of the optical fiber;—determining the path length of the trajectory of the selected maximum of intensity;—based upon the determined path length of the trajectory of the selected maximum of intensity, determining the temperature variation of the few mode optical fiber.

Abstract: Force transducer (10) include two structural members (11, 12) spaced apart to define a gap (101) and being linked to each other. Optical fibers (13) are to the members and are freely suspended in the gap. The optical fibers are configured to provide a change in a detectable optical property responsive to a change in relative position between the two members in one or more predetermined degrees of freedom. Each of the optical fibers (13) is fixed to both structural members and continuous between the members to link the two structural members to each other. The optical fibers are substantially the only structure forming a link between the two structural members (11, 12), such that the arrangement of the optical fibers defines substantially the stiffness of the link between the two structural members in the one or more predetermined degrees of freedom, which stiffness is mainly, such as for at least 95%, determined by the optical fibers.

Abstract: The invention teaches antisense agents and RNA interference agents useful for treating diseases and conditions the treatment of which can benefit from reducing the expression of double homeobox 4 and/or double homeobox 4c, more particularly facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Further elaborated are methods, uses and further products employing such agents.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods for determining the concentration of a free beta-lactam antibiotic in a biological sample. In particular, the present invention relates to methods for measuring a free beta-lactam antibiotic in a biological sample, comprising the steps of: (a) providing at least one class C beta-lactamase, a functional fragment or variant thereof; (b) providing at least one biological sample; (c) contacting said at least one class C beta-lactamase with said at least one biological sample; and (d) determining the concentration of said free beta-lactam antibiotic in said at least one biological sample.

Abstract: A composite material, notably for seasonal storage of energy in a domestic heating system, comprises grains having at least one of the following pairings of hygroscopic salt arranged within a porous material (table) with the hygroscopic metal concentration in the central zone of the grain being at least 0.7 times that in the peripheral zone.

Abstract: The quality and/or aging of an oil is monitored, notably in-situ, using a resonator sensor, for example a quartz crystal microbalance sensor (QCM). Changes of the frequency response of the sensor may be used to detect or monitor the presence of one or a combination of water, fuel, metallic debris, plastic debris and reaction products from degradation of oil components and/or oil additives (including oxidation products and acids). At least one of the major surfaces of the resonator sensor may include a component capturing surface layer provided with impression sites adapted to retain components of the oil indicative of the oil's quality, aging or contamination and both major surfaces of the sensor are preferably immersed in the oil to be monitored.

Abstract: The quality and/or aging of an oil is monitored, notably in-situ, using a resonator sensor, for example a quartz crystal microbalance sensor (QCM). Changes of the frequency response of the sensor may be used to detect or monitor the presence of one or a combination of water, fuel, metallic debris, plastic debris and reaction products from degradation of oil components and/or oil additives (including oxidation products and acids). At least one of the major surfaces of the resonator sensor may include a component capturing surface layer provided with impression sites adapted to retain components of the oil indicative of the oil's quality, aging or contamination and both major surfaces of the sensor are preferably immersed in the oil to be monitored.

Abstract: A process for the preparation of polyesters or polycarbonates including (i) the provision of cyclic esters or cyclic carbonates, (ii) polymerizing by ring-opening in the presence of a betaine based metal-free catalyst showing formula ?X—R1—Y+(R2)3 wherein X is S, O or Se, Y is N or P, R1 is linear or cyclic alkyl or aryl, and R2 is linear or cyclic alkyl. and under polymerizing conditions in the presence of an alcohol or amine based initiator.

Abstract: The present invention provides a synthetic peptide molecule that specifically binds an FXYD2-gamma isoform of pancreatic beta cells, said synthetic peptide molecule has 25 amino acids.

Abstract: The present invention is related to a method for coding excitation signal of a target speech comprising the steps of: extracting from a set of training normalized residual frames, a set of relevant normalized residual frames, said training residual frames being extracted from a training speech, synchronized on Glottal Closure Instant(GCI), pitch and energy normalized; determining the target excitation signal of the target speech; dividing said target excitation signal into GCI synchronized target frames; determining the local pitch and energy of the GCI synchronized target frames; normalizing the GCI synchronized target frames in both energy and pitch, to obtain target normalized residual frames; determining coefficients of linear combination of said extracted set of relevant normalized residual frames to build synthetic normalized residual frames close to each target normalized residual frames; wherein the coding parameters for each target residual frames comprise the determined coefficients.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods for determining the concentration of a free beta-lactam antibiotic in a biological sample. In particular, the present invention relates to methods for measuring a free beta-lactam antibiotic in a biological sample, comprising the steps of: (a) providing at least one class C beta-lactamase, a functional fragment or variant thereof; (b) providing at least one biological sample; (c) contacting said at least one class C beta-lactamase with said at least one biological sample; and (d) determining the concentration of said free beta-lactam antibiotic in said at least one biological sample.

Abstract: A preferred test system includes a chemical and/or biological sample in a liquid test medium and contains both a liquid and a gas phase that simulates air-water gas exchanges. It operates intermittently, with additions and eliminations of liquids being decoupled in time so that to make sure the medium is well mixed before eliminating any liquid; requirement for expensive fixed flow pumps, or accurate flow meters are eliminated while accurate measurement of fluxes between the chemical and/or biological sample, the liquid and the gas phase are possible by mass balance between added and eliminated liquids.