The International Linear Collider (ILC) being proposed in Japan is an electron-positron linear co... more The International Linear Collider (ILC) being proposed in Japan is an electron-positron linear collider with an initial energy of 250 GeV. The ILC accelerator is based on the technology of superconducting radio-frequency cavities. This technology has reached a mature stage in the European XFEL project and is now widely used. The ILC will start by measuring the Higgs properties, providing high-precision and model-independent determinations of its parameters. The ILC at 250 GeV will also search for direct new physics in exotic Higgs decays and in pair-production of weakly interacting particles. The use of polarised electron and positron beams opens new capabilities and scenarios that add to the physics reach. The ILC can be upgraded to higher energy, enabling precision studies of the top quark and measurement of the top Yukawa coupling and the Higgs self-coupling. The international -- including European -- interest for the project is very strong. Europe has participated in the ILC pro...
This note intends to give an estimate on the sensitivity of the channel ee to ee at the future IL... more This note intends to give an estimate on the sensitivity of the channel ee to ee at the future ILC250. At variance with other two fermion processes, the so-called Bhabha process is influenced by t-channel Z/photon exchange. In spite of the complexity of the resulting angular distribution of this process, one observes a good sensitivity to Zprime exchange, similar to those observed in annihilation channels. This feature is illustrated within the gauge-Higgs unification model, GHU, which shows an impressive indirect sensitivity to the mass of Zprime particles, up to about 20 TeV for the leptonic channels. Beam longitudinal polarisation and high luminosity are the key ingredients for this result. Measuring the Zprime ee coupling with the Bhabha process allows to measure separately Zprimemumu and Zprimetautau coupling, which serves for a precise test of lepton universality. Zprimebb and Zprimett couplings show good sensitivities to GHU. LHC and HE-LHC sensitivities are also discussed.
In view of the very precise measurements on fermion couplings which will be performed at ILC250 w... more In view of the very precise measurements on fermion couplings which will be performed at ILC250 with polarized beams, there is emerging evidence that the LEP1/SLC measurements on these couplings are an order of magnitude too imprecise to match the accuracies reachable at ILC250. This will therefore severely limit the indirect sensitivity to new resonances and require revisiting the possibility to run ILC at the Z pole with polarized electrons. This work was done as a contribution to the ESU 2018-2020.
This paper intends to collect the various evidences observed by ATLAS and CMS within searches for... more This paper intends to collect the various evidences observed by ATLAS and CMS within searches for heavy scalars and pseudocalars. These searches in tt, hZ, tautau and 2jets+W, obtain individual excesses in five channels, each at a modest level of significance, ~3 standard deviations, but, put together, give a strong evidence for a pseudoscalar at ~400 GeV. Preliminary interpretations are given which suggest that additional observations should appear in the HL-LHC phase.
Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) plays a crucial role as a signaling molecule for capacitati... more Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) plays a crucial role as a signaling molecule for capacitation, motility, and acrosome reaction in mammalian spermatozoa. It is well-known that cAMP degradation by phosphodiesterase (PDE) enzyme has a major impact on sperm functions. This study was undertaken to characterize cAMP-PDE activity in bovine spermatozoa. Total cAMP-PDE activity in cauda epididymal and ejaculated spermatozoa was 543.2 ± 49.5 and 1252.6 ± 86.5 fmoles/min/10(6) spermatozoa, respectively. Using different family-specific PDE inhibitors, we showed that in cauda epididymal and ejaculated spermatozoa, the major cAMP-PDE activity was papaverine-sensitive (44.5% and 57.5%, respectively, at 400 nm, papaverine is a specific inhibitor of the PDE10 family). These data are supporting the functional presence of PDE10 in bovine spermatozoa and were further confirmed by western blot to be PDE10A. Using immunocytochemistry, we showed immunoreactive signal for PDE10A present on the post-a...
The PD-1/PD-L1 axis plays a paramount role in the immune escape of tumor cells by negative regula... more The PD-1/PD-L1 axis plays a paramount role in the immune escape of tumor cells by negative regulation of T-cell functions. The aim of the present study was to characterize the PD-L1 expression pattern and its clinical implication in soft-tissue sarcomas (STS). We analyzed PD-L1 expression in 82 STS patients with 5 subtypes: rhabdomyosarcoma, synovial sarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, epithelioid sarcoma, and mesenchymal chondrosarcoma. The median age at diagnosis was 26 (range: 1-78) and the male to female ratio was 1.6. The majority (80 %) of patients showed locoregional disease rather than metastatic disease at diagnosis. Thirty-five cases (43 %) showed PD-L1 expression and the proportion of PD-L1 expression was significantly different according to histologic subtypes (P = 0.004); highest in epithelioid sarcoma (100 %, 7/7), followed by synovial sarcoma (53 %, 10/19), rhabdomyosarcoma (38 %, 12/32), and Ewing sarcoma (33 %, 6/18), while it was not expressed in mesenchymal chondrosarcoma (0 ...
To study clinical and urodynamic data along with immediate and long-term morbidity of surgical ma... more To study clinical and urodynamic data along with immediate and long-term morbidity of surgical management of neurogenic bladder in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients Single-center retrospective study of 61 SCI patients with neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) related urinary incontinence and/or sphincter weakness incontinence who underwent supratrigonal cystectomy with Hautmann pouch ± concomitant stress incontinence procedure (27.9%; n = 17). With a mean follow-up of 5.84 years (range 1-20.5) an improved or total continence rate was achieved in 89.7% and 74.1%, respectively. Surgery failed (incontinence persisted) for six (10.3%) patients, three of which had a simultaneous procedure for stress incontinence. On urodynamics, maximum cystometric capacity (MCC) (ml) increased from 305.2 to 509.4 (P < 0.05), mean compliance (ml/cmH(2) O) increased from 15 to 42.7 (P < 0.05) and mean detrusor pressure at MCC (cmH(2) O) fell from 54.1 to 19.1 (P < 0.05). Persisent NDO occurred in 20.7% compared to 59% pre-operatively (P < 0.05). The overall complication rate was 37.7% but ≤Clavien grade 2 in 82.6%. Notably, the incidence of bowel dysfunction, namely diarrhea and/or fecal incontinence was 27.5%. Concomitant outlet surgery was associated with increased morbidity as three (17.6%) complications led to re-intervention. Supratrigonal cystectomy with Hautmann pouch is an excellent surgical treatment for SCI patients suffering from refractory NDO incontinence. It achieves the main goals of achieving continence (74% complete), reducing rates of infection and preserving upper tract function, which is reflected in the improvement on urodynamics. The incidence of secondary bowel dysfunction and potential risk of a simultaneous procedure for stress incontinence needs to be discussed.
The International Linear Collider (ILC) being proposed in Japan is an electron-positron linear co... more The International Linear Collider (ILC) being proposed in Japan is an electron-positron linear collider with an initial energy of 250 GeV. The ILC accelerator is based on the technology of superconducting radio-frequency cavities. This technology has reached a mature stage in the European XFEL project and is now widely used. The ILC will start by measuring the Higgs properties, providing high-precision and model-independent determinations of its parameters. The ILC at 250 GeV will also search for direct new physics in exotic Higgs decays and in pair-production of weakly interacting particles. The use of polarised electron and positron beams opens new capabilities and scenarios that add to the physics reach. The ILC can be upgraded to higher energy, enabling precision studies of the top quark and measurement of the top Yukawa coupling and the Higgs self-coupling. The international -- including European -- interest for the project is very strong. Europe has participated in the ILC pro...
This note intends to give an estimate on the sensitivity of the channel ee to ee at the future IL... more This note intends to give an estimate on the sensitivity of the channel ee to ee at the future ILC250. At variance with other two fermion processes, the so-called Bhabha process is influenced by t-channel Z/photon exchange. In spite of the complexity of the resulting angular distribution of this process, one observes a good sensitivity to Zprime exchange, similar to those observed in annihilation channels. This feature is illustrated within the gauge-Higgs unification model, GHU, which shows an impressive indirect sensitivity to the mass of Zprime particles, up to about 20 TeV for the leptonic channels. Beam longitudinal polarisation and high luminosity are the key ingredients for this result. Measuring the Zprime ee coupling with the Bhabha process allows to measure separately Zprimemumu and Zprimetautau coupling, which serves for a precise test of lepton universality. Zprimebb and Zprimett couplings show good sensitivities to GHU. LHC and HE-LHC sensitivities are also discussed.
In view of the very precise measurements on fermion couplings which will be performed at ILC250 w... more In view of the very precise measurements on fermion couplings which will be performed at ILC250 with polarized beams, there is emerging evidence that the LEP1/SLC measurements on these couplings are an order of magnitude too imprecise to match the accuracies reachable at ILC250. This will therefore severely limit the indirect sensitivity to new resonances and require revisiting the possibility to run ILC at the Z pole with polarized electrons. This work was done as a contribution to the ESU 2018-2020.
This paper intends to collect the various evidences observed by ATLAS and CMS within searches for... more This paper intends to collect the various evidences observed by ATLAS and CMS within searches for heavy scalars and pseudocalars. These searches in tt, hZ, tautau and 2jets+W, obtain individual excesses in five channels, each at a modest level of significance, ~3 standard deviations, but, put together, give a strong evidence for a pseudoscalar at ~400 GeV. Preliminary interpretations are given which suggest that additional observations should appear in the HL-LHC phase.
Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) plays a crucial role as a signaling molecule for capacitati... more Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) plays a crucial role as a signaling molecule for capacitation, motility, and acrosome reaction in mammalian spermatozoa. It is well-known that cAMP degradation by phosphodiesterase (PDE) enzyme has a major impact on sperm functions. This study was undertaken to characterize cAMP-PDE activity in bovine spermatozoa. Total cAMP-PDE activity in cauda epididymal and ejaculated spermatozoa was 543.2 ± 49.5 and 1252.6 ± 86.5 fmoles/min/10(6) spermatozoa, respectively. Using different family-specific PDE inhibitors, we showed that in cauda epididymal and ejaculated spermatozoa, the major cAMP-PDE activity was papaverine-sensitive (44.5% and 57.5%, respectively, at 400 nm, papaverine is a specific inhibitor of the PDE10 family). These data are supporting the functional presence of PDE10 in bovine spermatozoa and were further confirmed by western blot to be PDE10A. Using immunocytochemistry, we showed immunoreactive signal for PDE10A present on the post-a...
The PD-1/PD-L1 axis plays a paramount role in the immune escape of tumor cells by negative regula... more The PD-1/PD-L1 axis plays a paramount role in the immune escape of tumor cells by negative regulation of T-cell functions. The aim of the present study was to characterize the PD-L1 expression pattern and its clinical implication in soft-tissue sarcomas (STS). We analyzed PD-L1 expression in 82 STS patients with 5 subtypes: rhabdomyosarcoma, synovial sarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, epithelioid sarcoma, and mesenchymal chondrosarcoma. The median age at diagnosis was 26 (range: 1-78) and the male to female ratio was 1.6. The majority (80 %) of patients showed locoregional disease rather than metastatic disease at diagnosis. Thirty-five cases (43 %) showed PD-L1 expression and the proportion of PD-L1 expression was significantly different according to histologic subtypes (P = 0.004); highest in epithelioid sarcoma (100 %, 7/7), followed by synovial sarcoma (53 %, 10/19), rhabdomyosarcoma (38 %, 12/32), and Ewing sarcoma (33 %, 6/18), while it was not expressed in mesenchymal chondrosarcoma (0 ...
To study clinical and urodynamic data along with immediate and long-term morbidity of surgical ma... more To study clinical and urodynamic data along with immediate and long-term morbidity of surgical management of neurogenic bladder in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients Single-center retrospective study of 61 SCI patients with neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) related urinary incontinence and/or sphincter weakness incontinence who underwent supratrigonal cystectomy with Hautmann pouch ± concomitant stress incontinence procedure (27.9%; n = 17). With a mean follow-up of 5.84 years (range 1-20.5) an improved or total continence rate was achieved in 89.7% and 74.1%, respectively. Surgery failed (incontinence persisted) for six (10.3%) patients, three of which had a simultaneous procedure for stress incontinence. On urodynamics, maximum cystometric capacity (MCC) (ml) increased from 305.2 to 509.4 (P < 0.05), mean compliance (ml/cmH(2) O) increased from 15 to 42.7 (P < 0.05) and mean detrusor pressure at MCC (cmH(2) O) fell from 54.1 to 19.1 (P < 0.05). Persisent NDO occurred in 20.7% compared to 59% pre-operatively (P < 0.05). The overall complication rate was 37.7% but ≤Clavien grade 2 in 82.6%. Notably, the incidence of bowel dysfunction, namely diarrhea and/or fecal incontinence was 27.5%. Concomitant outlet surgery was associated with increased morbidity as three (17.6%) complications led to re-intervention. Supratrigonal cystectomy with Hautmann pouch is an excellent surgical treatment for SCI patients suffering from refractory NDO incontinence. It achieves the main goals of achieving continence (74% complete), reducing rates of infection and preserving upper tract function, which is reflected in the improvement on urodynamics. The incidence of secondary bowel dysfunction and potential risk of a simultaneous procedure for stress incontinence needs to be discussed.
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Papers by Francois Richard