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A geochemical survey of fluids in the Las Tres Vírgenes geothermal field (LTVGF) in Baja California Sur, Mexico, was carried out to describe their origins and evolution within the reservoir. Major and minor elements and noble gas isotopes (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) were measured in fluids from three production wells, one injection well, and one fumarole (El Azufre). Stable isotopes of water (δD and δ18O) show mixing between Quaternary recharge, lighter than present-day rainfall, and a deep fluid of andesitic origin. The Na/Br and Cl/Br ratios indicate that deep brines from the LTVGF are seawater having leached evaporite deposits (i.e., halite). These deposits are presently absent in the area, but likely occurred during the Miocene, prior to the breakup of the Gulf of California, suggesting that the saline fluid end-member of the LTVGF is several million year old. Measured 3He/4He ratios of greater than 6.5 Ra (where Ra is the atmospheric ratio of 1.384 x10-6) show that LTVGF fluids are a mixture of meteoric waters and deep magmatic fluids, with the hotter and more pristine mantle fluids found in the southern part of the exploitation zone.

Breast cancer remains a potentially lethal disease, which requires aggressive treatments and is associated with long-term consequences. Its prognosis is linked to both tumor biology and burden at diagnosis. Although treatments have allowed important improvements in prognosis over the past 20 years, breast cancer screening remains necessary. Mammographic screening allows earlier stage diagnoses and a decrease of breast cancer specific mortality. However, breast cancer screening modalities should be revised with the objective to address demonstrated limitations of mammographic screening (limited benefit, imperfect sensitivity and specificity, overdiagnoses, radiation-induced morbidity). Furthermore, both objective and perceived performances of screening procedures should be improved. Numerous large international efforts are ongoing, leading to scientific progresses that should have rapid clinical implications in this area. Among them is improvement of imaging techniques performance, development of real time diagnosis, and development of new non radiological screening techniques such as the search for circulating tumor DNA, development of biomarkers able to allow precise risk evaluation and stratified screening. As well, overtreatment is currently addressed by biomarker-based de-escalation clinical trials. These advances need to be associated with strong societal support, as well as major paradigm changes regarding the way health and cancer prevention is perceived by individuals., (Copyright © 2016 Société Française du Cancer. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Several studies have shown that music can boost cognitive functions in normal and brain-damaged subjects. A few studies have suggested a beneficial effect of music in patients with a disorder of consciousness but it is difficult to conclude since they did not use quantified measures and a control condition/group. The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of music to that of a continuous sound on the relational behavior of patients in a minimally conscious state (MCS). Behavioral responses of six MCS patients were evaluated using items from the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised. Weekly evaluation sessions were carried out, over four weeks, under two conditions: following the presentation of either the patient's preferred music, or following a continuous sound (control condition). Qualitative and quantitative analyses showed that twelve of the eighteen sessions (66.6%) showed a better result for the music condition than for the control condition. This new protocol suggests that preferred music has a beneficial effect on the cognitive abilities of MCS patients. The results further suggest that cerebral plasticity may be enhanced in autobiographical (emotional and familiar) contexts. These findings should now be further extended with an increased number of patients to further validate the hypothesis of the beneficial effect of music on cognitive recovery., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

UV irradiation induces lipid peroxidation (LPO) and cell damage. The aim of the present work was the study of UVB radiation effects on cultured human skin fibroblasts, concerning LPO, prostaglandine E2 (PGE2) formation and cell viability. The cells were exposed to 50, 100, and 150 mJ/cm2 of UVB irradiation. Cellular TBARS and supernatant fluorescent substances were measured spectrofluorimetrically. PGE2 was measured using an immunoenzymatic method. Cell viability was evaluated by the MTT test. All determinations were done after a 2 h incubation period post-irradiation. TBARS were increased for all doses of irradiation (p < 0.001). Fluorescent substances differed from controls at 50 mJ/cm2 (p < 0.001). UVB at 100 and 150 mJ/cm2 decreased cellular viability (p < 0.001). An increase of PGE2 was observed with UVB at 150 mJ/cm2 (p < 0.001). These results confirm the occurrence of LPO and cytotoxicity after UV irradiation; on the other hand, this study showed the formation of PGE2 induced by UV light on cultured human skin fibroblasts. We propose a relationship between these phenomena.

The authors report ten cases of cervical ribs operated upon in 7 patients. The predominantly neurological symptoms and signs were associated with vascular problems in 3 cases, with intermittent compression of the sub-clavian vessels. Treatment consisted of resection of the cervical rib and the first rib via an extra-pleural axillary approach using the technique described by Roos. It gave 10 good results with a follow-up of 6 months to 3 years. The authors emphasise the fact that this pathology falls within the context of compressive syndromes of the root of the upper limb or thoracic outlet syndrome. Such a conception justifies associated resection of the first rib which should give better long term results than simple resection of the extra rib.

The authors describe a perplexing clinical picture in which an important factor for diagnosing the lesion in the gall-bladder was hyperselective arteriography of the coeliac trunk, and more especially the hepatic artery. The association of a truc septum in the gall-bladder, without gall-stones, and of another digestive tube lesion, megadolicho-sigmoid and diverticulosis of the sigmoid, would appear to be an extremely rare entity, and this has been the cause of the pain reported by the patient over many years. The cholecystectomy performed appears to be the right choice, and the most effective therapeutic procedure.

The hyperandrogenisms, and in particular those which accompany polycystic ovaries, should always be treated, because the risk of carcinoma of the endometrium and of the breast is increased in these cases. Sterility is inconstant, but can benefit from treatment.