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•NaHCO3a natural contaminant in irrigation underground water impairs tomato plants.•Hydroponic solutions containing above 5 mM NaHCO3decreased tomato yield.•K+/Na+ratio, whole biomass, fruit number and weight decreased by NaHCO3treatment.•NaHCO3impacts photosynthesis primarily through stomatal closure.•Ascorbic acid deficient mutants show similar damage as wild type plants under stress.

The utilization of clays to enhance the water vapour barrier properties of polyethylene requires knowledge about factors associated with the constituents themselves. Hence, this paper presents combinations of two types of polyethylene and five different clays. Morphological, mechanical and thermal properties related to the water vapour permeability of clay/polyethylene composites were investigated. Although no evidence of clay exfoliation was observed according to morphological and spectral results, it was found that the enhanced water vapour barrier properties were linked to clay aspect ratio, composites interface, polyethylene crystallinity and storage conditions. The best water vapour barrier properties were obtained by increasing polyethylene crystallinity with unmodified clay of high aspect ratio. Organoclays addition showed no improvement in barrier properties of polyethylene unless the interface was strongly compatibilized. Contrary to the results published elsewhere, clay addition brought about no mechanical improvements to polyethylene tested.

Abstract: Tomato is an essential crop in terms of economic importance and nutritional quality. In France, the third most important region for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) production is Aquitaine where the major part of production is now grown soilless under greenhouse conditions with harvest from March to November. Tomato fruit quality at harvest is a direct function of its metabolite content at that time. The aim of this work was to use a global approach to characterize changes in the fruit organoleptic quality at harvest under commercial culture conditions during an entire season for two varieties and two different fertilization practices (with or without recycling of the nutrient solution) for one variety. Absolute quantification data of 32 major compounds in fruit without seeds were obtained through untargeted (proton nuclear magnetic resonance, 1H-NMR) quantitative profiling. These data were complemented by colorimetric analysis of ascorbate and total phenolics. They were analyzed with chemometric approaches. Principal component analysis (PCA) or partial least square analyses (PLS) revealed more discriminant metabolites for season than for variety and showed that nutrient solution recycling had very little effect on fruit composition. These tendencies were confirmed with univariate analyses. 1H-NMR profiling complemented with colorimetric analyses therefore provided a diagnostic tool to follow the changes in organoleptic and nutritional quality of tomato. In addition the quantitative information generated will help to increase our knowledge on the mechanisms of plant response to environmental modifications.

Bluetongue (BT) and African Horse Sickness (AHS) are infectious arthropod-borne viral diseases affecting ruminants and horses, respectively. Culicoides imicola Kieffer, 1913, a biting midge, is the principal vector of these livestock diseases in Africa and Europe. Recently bluetongue disease has re-emerged in the Mediterranean Basin and has had a devastating effect on the sheep industry in Italy and on the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearics, but fortunately, has not penetrated onto mainland France and Spain. To survey for the presence of C. imicola, an extensive light-trap network for the collection of Culicoides, was implemented in 2002 in southern mainland France. The morphological identification of Culicoides can be both tedious and time-consuming because its size ranges from 1.5 to 3 mm. Therefore, an ITS1 rDNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostic assay was developed to rapidly and reliably identify Culicoides spp. and C. imicola. The aim of this work was to set up a rapid test for the detection of C. imicola amongst a pool of insects collected in areas at risk for BT. The sequence similarity of the rDNA (nuclear ribosomal DNA), which is greater within species than between species, is the foundation of its utilisation in species-diagnostic assays. The alignment of the 11 ITS1 sequences of Culicoides obtained from Genbank and EMBL databases helped us to identify one region in the 5’ end and one in the 3’ end that appear highly conserved. PCR primers were designed within these regions to amplify genus-specific fragments. In order to set up a C. imicola-specific PCR, another forward primer was designed and used in combination with the previously designed reverse primer. These primers proved to be highly specific and sensitive and permitted a rapid diagnostic separation of C. imicola from Culicoides spp.

The arenavirus Lassa is found in West Africa, where it sometimes causes a severe illness called Lassa fever. Lassa fever has been seldom investigated outside of a few hyperendemic regions, where the described epidemiology may differ from that in areas of low or moderate incidence of disease. Through a prospective cohort study, we investigated the epidemiology and clinical presentation of Lassa fever in Guinea, where the disease has been infrequently recognized. A surveillance system was established, and suspected cases were enrolled at five Guinean hospitals. Clinical observations were made, and blood was taken for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay testing and isolation of Lassa virus. Lassa fever was confirmed in 22 (7%) of 311 suspected cases. Another 43 (14%) had Lassa IgG antibodies, indicating past exposure. Both sexes and a wide variety of age and ethnic groups were affected. The disease was more frequently found, and the IgG seroprevalence generally higher, in the southeastern forest region. In some areas, there were significant discrepancies between the incidence of Lassa fever and the prevalence of antibody. Clinical presentations between those with Lassa fever and other febrile illnesses were essentially indistinguishable. Clinical predictors of a poor outcome were noted, but again were not specific for Lassa fever. Case-fatality rates for those with Lassa fever and non-Lassa febrile illnesses were 18% and 15%, respectively. Seasonal fluctuation in the incidence of Lassa fever was noted, but occurred similarly with non-Lassa febrile illnesses. Our results, perhaps typical of the scenario throughout much of West Africa, indicate Lassa virus infection to be widespread in certain areas of Guinea, but difficult to distinguish clinically.

The role of estrogen as a promoter agent of sporadic breast cancer has been considered by assaying, in benign breast disease (BBD) and in situ carcinomas (CIS), 2 markers, the estrogen receptor α (ERα) and cathepsin D (cath-D) involved in estrogen action on mammary tissue. ERα and cath-D were assayed by quantitative immunohistochemistry using an image analyzer in 170 lesions of varying histological risk (94 BBD and 76 CIS), and in “normal” glands close to these lesions. The ERα level increased significantly in proliferative BBD with atypia (P< .001), in non-high-grade CIS (P< .001), and in adjacent “normal” glands. ERα level was decreased in high-grade ductal CIS (DCIS) and also in adjacent “normal” glands. Cath-D level increased in ductal proliferative BBD (P≤ .01) and in high-grade DCIS (P≤ .003), but not in the other lesions. After menopause, ERα level was increased (P= .012) but not cath-D level. According to Mac Neman test, the high-grade DCIS were predominantly ERα negative and cath-D positive (P= .0017), and the other CIS were predominantly ERα: positive and cath-D negative (P= .0002). The 2 markers are overexpressed early in premalignant lesions, but independently. This dissociation suggests a branched model of mammary carcinogenesis involving 1 estrogen-independent pathway with high oath-D and low ERα levels (including high-grade DCIS) and 1 estrogen-dependent pathway, with high ERα level (including proliferative BBD with atypia and low-grade DCIS). We propose that ERα-negative breast cancers may develop directly from high-grade DCIS and that ERα assay in preinvasive lesions should be considered in prevention trials with antiestrogens.

Fibulin-1, an extracellular matrix protein, is secreted by human ovarian metastatic cancer cell lines under estrogen stimulation. Fibulin-1 expression was quantified by immunohistochemistry and computer-aided image analysis in 44 human ovarian epithelial tumors and 14 normal ovaries. The fibulin-1 staining intensity in proximal stroma, close to the surface of epithelial cells and tumor cells, progressively increased from normal ovaries to serous carcinomas. In all lesions, excluding cystadenomas, fibulin-1 accumulation was higher in proximal stroma than in distant stroma. In situhybridization demonstrated strong fibulin-1 gene expression in epithelial cells of serous ovarian carcinomas and some cysts. The weak expression of fibulin-1 RNA in some stromal cells of these tumors could not explain the strong fibulin-1 protein accumulation in tumor stroma, which was therefore mostly produced by tumor epithelial cells. In carcinomas, fibulin-1 staining was not correlated with the percentage of estrogen receptor-α (ERα)-stained nuclei but was inversely correlated with the progesterone receptor. However, in cystadenomas and borderline tumors, both fibulin-1 and ERα protein levels increased, in comparison with normal ovaries, suggesting an effect of estrogens in the early steps of tumorigenesis. This fibulin-1 overexpression, demonstratedin vivoin ovarian carcinomas, might be a useful indicator for predicting cancer risk and/or aggressiveness.

New porous vitroceramic materials have been prepared by the controlled crystallization of calcium aluminophosphate foam glasses for use in prosthetic bone replacement. The technique of elaboration was developed using DTA measurements. A study was made of their principal properties: porosity, average pore diameter, interconnections between the pores and mechanical characteristics. The biological results are also briefly described.

A primary orbital liposarcoma was diagnosed in a 15-year old girl who complained of a rapidly progressing proptosis. An excisional biopsy of the tumor by neurosurgical approach was followed by radiation therapy and sequential chemotherapy during 18 months. A recurrence then occurred leading to orbital exenteration and again radiotherapy. The patient died of widespread metastases less than 30 months after the onset of the disease.Histologically, the tumor was composed of spindle-shaped prelipoblastic and lipo-blastic cells, round vacuolated pre-adipocytic cells and large differentiated adipocytic cells. These features, associated with an edematous stroma, led to the diagnosis of myxoid liposarcoma. Electron microscopy disclosed basement membrane formation, pinocytic vesicles and intracytoplasmic lipidic inclusions without peripheral membrane.No more than 15 cases of orbital liposarcomas were reported in the literature during the past 20 years. Primary orbital liposarcomas differ from extraorbital liposarcomas in that they occur frequently in youth and have a worse prognosis.

We have studied the impact of large-scale treatment with ivermectin on the transmission of loiasis in a forest village in south Cameroon where loiasis was highly endemic, with a prevalence of 30%. After one year of parasitological and entomological surveillance without treatment, all consenting residents aged >5 years received ivermectin 200 µg/kg every 3 months. For ethical reasons, treatment was interrupted after 2 years, but parasitological and entomological surveillance continued for 18 months after the end of treatment. The prevalence of loiasis was reduced to <10% and the mean microfilaraemia decreased by 90% in 2 years. The prevalence and average intensity of infection remained stable during the 18 months after treatment ended. Two vector species were identified, Chrysops dimidiata(representing about 90% of the fly population) and C. silacea.The infection rate (all stages) in Chrysopsdecreased by 75% and the infective rate (percentage of Chrysopsharbouring third-stage larvae of Loa loain the head) decreased by 85% in C. dimidiataand became zero in C. silacea. After the end of treatment, the infection and infective rates increased gradually. Large-scale treatment seemed an efficient method for the control of L. loatransmission provided high drug coverage was achieved. Nevertheless, because of the high risk of adverse effects when using the current microfilaricidal drugs, such a strategy remains unacceptable.

Atypical carcinoids are an intermediate form of tumor between low-grade malignant typical carcinoid and highgrade malignant small cell carcinoma, which represent the two ends of the spectrum of neuroendocrine bronchopulmonary tumors. Between 1983 and 1993, 27 patients with atypical carcinoids underwent surgical treatment. The histologic diagnosis of an atypical carcinoid was established if the criteria proposed by Arrigoni and associates were fulfilled. Seven pneumonectomies, 16 lobectomies, 2 segmentectomies, and 2 wedge resections were performed. Thirteen patients (48.1%) had regional nodal metastases and 6 patients (22%) had N2 disease at the time of surgical therapy. Distant metastases devel oped in 5 patients (18.5%) after initial treatment. The 10-year survival in patients with an atypical carcinoid was 49%, versus the 84% 10-year survival rate observed in patients with a typical carcinoid. We conclude that the aggressive behavior of atypical carcinoids precludes the use of limited surgical resection and requires a more aggressive approach, with lobectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection constituting a minimal procedure. The same criteria used for well-differentiated lung carcinoma should apply to this form of neuroendocrine lung tumor. Adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended for patients with stage III or distant metastases.

Biotin synthase catalyses the final step in the biotin biosynthetic pathway and is encoded by the bioBgene in Escherichia coli. To investigate the conversion of dethiobiotin to biotin in the plant kingdom, the cDNA encoding the bioBgene product equivalent from Arabidopsis thalianawas used to construct an E. colioverexpression strain. The purified A. thaliana bioBgene product is a homodimer (100 kDa) with a reddish color and has an absorbance spectrum characteristic of protein with [2Fe‐2S] clusters. Its intracellular compartmentation in pea leaves discloses a unique polypeptide of 39 kDa within the matrix of mitochondria.

Summary: In a 46-year old Caucasian woman, the authors report a B-cell adenoma with plasma immuno-reactive insulin (IRI) ranging from 10 to 32 U/ml, despite severe spontaneous hypoglycemia. In a peroperative sample withdrawn from the portal vein, normal IRI (40 U/ml) in the presence of high insulin-like activity (290 U/ml) was observed by using a biological assay performed on rat epididymal fat tissue. Furthermore, this material did not cross-react with insulin antibodies and was undetectable in systemic venous samples. Although further identification by chromatographic extraction was not performed, the substance secreted by the tumor is probably identical to the non-suppressible insulin-like activity (NSILA) isolated by Froesch and responsible for hypoglycemia in a few cases of extrapancreatic tumors. The absence of this material in systemic samples indicates an immediate removal by a single passage through the liver.

Processes involved in the uptake and fixation of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) were characterised for Coccomyxa, the green algal primary photobiont of the lichen Peltigera aphthosa and compared with the freeliving alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Dangeard (WT cc 125+). A mass-spectrometer disequilibrium technique was used to quantify fluxes of both HCOinf3sup-and CO2 in the two algae, while activities of carbonic anhydrases (CAs) were examined in intact cells by measuring 18O exchange from doubly labelled CO2 (13C18O18O) to water and by using CA inhibitors. The CO2-fixation kinetics of intact Coccomyxa cells were also compared with the carboxylation efficiency of its isolated and purified primary carboxylating enzyme, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylaseoxygenase (Rubisco). The two algae were found to be significantly different in their modes of acquiring CO2 for photosynthesis. Chlamydomonas was able to actively transport both HCOinf3sup-and CO2 from the external medium, while Coccomyxa clearly favoured CO2 as a substrate. Both algae were found to possess external as well as internal CAs, but the relative amounts of these as well as their overall significance for the functioning of photosynthesis differed. In Coccomyxa, the internal CA activity was significantly higher than in Chlamydomonas and also predominated over the external activity. In Chlamydomonas, both transport and fixation of DIC were severely inhibited by ethoxyzolamide, an inhibitor of external and internal CAs as well as the DIC-transporting system, while this inhibitor only caused a minor inhibition of photosynthesis in Coccomyxa. These results thus give strong support for earlier indirect observations of the absence of a CO2concentrating mechanism in Coccomyxa. In addition, Coccomyxa was found to possess a Rubisco with a higher carboxylation efficiency than Chlamydomonas, having a Km (CO2) of 12 +3 µM CO2 and a CO2/O2 specificity factor (Sc/o) of 83 +2, and it may hence be concluded that the absence of the CO2-concentrating mechanism is positively correlated with a more efficient Rubisco in this alga.

Abstract. Early (20 min) thyroid radio-iodine uptake (ERU) and thyroid-stimulating antibodies (TSab) were determined in 27 untreated unselected patients with Graves' disease at the time of diagnosis. In 21 subjects the same tests were further performed in parallel during combined carbimazole-L-T3therapy (mean duration of follow-up: 10.8 ± 5.8 months; mean ± sd). TSab was determined by a cAMP-human thyrocyte culture stimulation assay and expressed in μl-equivalent of a TSab standard/ml (μl-eq/ml). Before treatment, ERU, ranging from 15 to 54% of the injected dose (normal ≤ 8% dose) correlated with serum T3(r: 0.54; P< 0.01); TSab, ranging from 6 to 85 μl-eq/ml was detected in 21/27 patients. There was a significant correlation between ERU and TSab (Spearman rank test: r: 0.57; P< 0.01). During the first months of treatment, 5 of the 21 patients sequentially studied had undetectable TSab levels throughout the study and in these patients ERU decreased by 57% of its initial value; the remaining 16 subjects were divided into two groups according to ERU changes: in group A (9 patients), initial ERU decreased by 50% or more or the absolute value became less than 20% of the dose and TSab decreased from 10.9 ± 4.8 ISP-μl-eq/ml to 5.3 ± 1.6 μl-eq/ml (P< 0.01); in group B (7 patients), the fall of ERU was less than 50% or the absolute value remained greater than 20% of the dose and TSab values remained unchanged. Furthermore, the values of ERU and TSab serially obtained during treatment varied in parallel in the 9 patients of group A, whereas in group B, TSab and ERU evolutions were discordant. These two patterns of TSab and ERU changes could not be related to any clinical or biological findings. We conclude that 1) ERU is more closely related to thyroid overstimulation than TSab in untreated patients with Graves' disease, but that there is a significant relationship between ERU and TSab values; 2) during antithyroid therapy, the TSab decrement was significantly greater in patients in whom initial ERU decreased by 50% or more or the absolute value became less than 20% of the dose than in patients with persistent high ERU levels; 3) the follow-up of these patients during antithyroid-L-T3treatment showed two patterns of changes for ERU and TSab, parallel in some patients, discordant in others, suggesting an heterogeneity in the in vivo TSab effect from one patient to another.

Cytosol and vacuoles from protoplasts, chloroplasts, and mitochondria from green pea (Pisum sativum) leaves were purified and examined for their biotin content. The bulk of free biotin was shown to be exclusively associated with the cytosolic fraction at a concentration of about 4 pmol/mg protein and no bound biotin was detected. The bulk of bound biotin (biotin-containing carboxylases) was associated with the soluble fraction of chloroplasts and mitochondria at a concentration of about 1.2 and 13 µM, respectively. No free biotin was detected in these organelles. Western blot analysis of total, chloroplastic, and mitochondrial polypeptides, using horseradish peroxidase-labeled streptavidin, revealed three biotin-containing polypeptides with molecular mass of 220,000, 76,000 and 34,000. All were detected in the total pea leaf extract, but the M_r 76,000 and the M_r 34,000 biotinylated polypeptides were only detected in mitochondria and chloroplasts, respectively. 3-Methylcrotonyl-coenzyme A carboxylase and acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase activities were measured in these two compartments, respectively. Previously, it has been shown that the M_r 76,000 polypeptide was the biotinylated subunit of the mitochondnial 3-methylcrotonyl-coenzyme A carboxylase. In this paper, the origin and putative function of free biotin located in cytosol are discussed.Copyright 1993, 1999 Academic Press

Abstract. Severe calorie restriction for treating the obese reduces serum triiodothyronine (T3) and energy expenditure, and may be counterproductive. In order to avoid severe calorie deficiency, we measured the individual minimum energy requirements (threshold, T) in 17 obese females and fed each on a sub-threshold diet, comprising the maximum number of calories commensurate with weight loss (T-200 cals). Mean T-200 was 1318 ± 96 cals, but the mean weight loss after 16 weeks on a sub-threshold diet (STD) was identical (17 kg) to that obtained by 22 age-matched female controls on a classical diet of 659 ± 59 cals, exactly half the intake. Weight loss on the classical diet was initially rapid but decelerated sharply after 8 weeks, while on the sub-threshold diet the rate of loss remained constant throughout.In a second study, thyroid hormone measurements were performed three times weekly in 27 obese females during the 4 week period required to establish T. The mean weight loss was 4.02 ± 0.3 kg, but T3levels varied minimally and very transiently. STD produces short-term results similar to those obtained by severe calorie deprivation, but is more acceptable to the patient. It appears not to provoke the fat-saving reflexes provoked by the classical, low-calorie diet.

Abstract. In order to know how thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancers are investigated and treated in 1988, an international inquiry was performed by mean of a questionnaire based on a well-defined case report of a 35-year-old female with a solitary small thyroid nodule. Clinicians were asked to indicate their diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to the reported case and to some variations. Analysis of the 157 responses from thyroid experts showed that three in vitro tests (sensitive-TSH, free T4and total T4) and three in vivo tests (99mTc or radioiodide scintiscan, fine needle aspiration and ultrasonography) were performed most frequently. In the case of a solid and cold nodule and in the absence of fine needle aspiration results, 19% of respondents advocated suppressive therapy and 81% surgery. In the same clinical case, but whom fine needle aspiration had been performed and cytology was benign, surgery was advocated by 24%, suppressive therapy by 48% and a regular follow-up without treatment by 28% of respondents. When surgery was performed and the diagnosis was a differentiated thyroid cancer, (near) total thyroidectomy was more frequently chosen than partial thyroidectomy in both papillary (60 and 40%, respectively, of respondents) and follicular (74 and 26%, respectively, of respondents) cancers; 80% of clinicians did not change their surgical technique in relation to histological type of the tumour. Total thyroidectomy was more often recommended in most of the clinical or anatomical variations compared with the basic case report. Pre- or postoperative hormonal therapy was initiated with L-T4and TSH suppression was controlled by sensitive-TSH and thyroglobulin determinations. After total thyroidectomy, 131I was used with similar modalities for papillary and follicular cancers to ablate a thyroid remnant.

Compression was applied to the distal femoral growth plate in rabbits. Measurements of bone length and microscopic studies of the physis showed that the axial growth rate decreased proportionally with the compression force; forces greater than 30 N caused cartilage cell damage and rapid cessation of physeal growth.

Galectins constitute a gene family of β-galactoside-specific lectins that show high homology in their carbohydrate-binding site. They have been postulated to be involved in many biological events, but their specific functions are not yet well defined. Galectin-1 is a laminin binding protein that recognizes poly N-acetyllactosamine chains on this major basement membrane glycoprotein. In this study, we analyzed the possibility that galectin-1 could modulate interactions between human melanoma cells and laminin. We demonstrated that A375 and A2058 cell lines express galectin-1 both intracellularly and on the cell surface. In an in vitro assay, recombinant galectin-1 increased melanoma cell attachment to laminin in a dose-dependent manner. This effect was abolished by lactose. Anti-galectin-1 inhibited adhesion of melanoma cells to laminin in a dose-dependent fashion. However, neither galectin-1 nor anti-galectin-1 antibody affected melanoma cell spreading on laminin in vitro. These data indicate that galectin-1 might participate in melanoma cell adhesion to laminin and therefore could be a modulator of invasion and metastasis.

Young pea leaves contain two structurally different forms of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (EC 6.4.1.2; ACCase). A minor form, which accounted for about 20% of the total ACCase activity in the whole leaf, was detected in the epidermal tissue. This enzyme was soluble and was purified to homogeneity from young pea leaf extracts. It consisted of a dimer of two identical biotinyl subunits of molecular mass 220 kDa. In this respect, this multifunctional enzyme was comparable with that described in other plants and in other eukaryotes. A predominant form was present in both the epidermal and mesophyll tissues. In mesophyll protoplasts, ACCase was detected exclusively in the soluble phase of chloroplasts. This enzyme was partially purified from pea chloroplasts and consisted of a freely dissociating complex, the activity of which may be restored by combination of its separated constituents. The partially purified enzyme was composed of several subunits of molecular masses ranging from 32 to 79 kDa, for a native molecular mass > 600 kDa. One of these subunits, of molecular mass 38 kDa, was biotinylated. This complex subunit structure was comparable with that of microorganisms and was referred to as a ‘prokaryotic’ form of ACCase. Biochemical parameters were determined for both ACCase forms. Finally, both pea leaf ACCases exhibited different sensitivities towards the grass ACCase herbicide, diclofop. This compound had no effect on the ‘prokaryotic’ form of ACCase, while the ‘eukaryotic’ form was strongly inhibited.

A 52-year-old male presented himself with tachycardia crises which appeared first during childhood, increased in frequency without goiter or exophthalmos. Cardiac and adrenergic diseases were excluded. The thyroid function was normal regarding T4, free T4 and T3, TBG, radioiodine uptake, TSH and T3 suppressibility; however the TSH response to TRH was decreased. The lymphocyte nuclear T3 receptor was found with an affinity close to that of normal volunteers (Ka: 1.42 × 1010M−1vs 1.95 ± 0.35 × 1010M−1) and a binding capacity markedly increased (9.9 vs 3.7 ± 0.4 fmol T3/100 μg DNA). Pindolol was inefficient on the dysrhythmia which disappeared with carbimazole and relapsed after withdrawal of the antithyroid drug. Under carbimazole, the plasma T4 markedly decreased (27.7 ± 3.6 nmol/l) but the patient remained euthyroid. The clinical course and the laboratory data suggest that the tachycardia crises are the consequence of a hypersensitivity of the heart to thyroid hormones, associated with an increased number of T3 nuclear receptor sites in lymphocytes.

Abstract: A method for analysis of growth activity in long bones is presented. An external device composed of two force transducers was fixed on the femur of young rabbits on both sides of the epiphyseal plate. Periodical measurements of axial force variation and bone elongation have been made. Preliminary results have been presented and analysed. The possibility of clinical application, especially in control of the bone growth rate, has been discussed.

Summary The authors analyze at several levels the biomechanical activity of the epiphyseal plate.

Conclusion En dépit de ces multiples travaux, il persiste d'énormes contradictions et beaucoup de points flous. Les travaux ont essentiellement débouché sur des observations macroscopiques, et les conséquences des effets mécaniques n'ont pas été évalués à l'échelle histologique, dans l'intimité du cartilage. Toute recherche à venir doit s'orienter vers une analyse plus précise des modifications histologiques et biochimiques.

Biotin synthase catalyses the final step in the biotin biosynthetic pathway and is encoded by the bioBgene in Escherichia coli. To investigate the conversion of dethiobiotin to biotin in the plant kingdom, the cDNA encoding the bioBgene product equivalent from Arabidopsis thalianawas used to construct an E. colioverexpression strain. The purified A. thaliana bioBgene product is a homodimer (100 kDa) with a reddish color and has an absorbance spectrum characteristic of protein with [2Fe-2S] clusters. Its intracellular compartmentation in pea leaves discloses a unique polypeptide of 39 kDa within the matrix of mitochondria.

A case of tophaceous gout of the navicular bone in a 24-year-old woman is reported. Emphasis is placed on the conditions that might have been precipitating, i.e., anorexia nervosa and alcoholism, and the mechanisms by which increased uric acid level may be explained. The main radiographic patterns of tophaceous gout of the foot are recalled to avoid unnecessary surgery in future cases.

In a 5-year-old boy, an early onset psychomotor retardation with nonprogressive ataxia and without dysmorphic features, associated with lysosomal storage disease found on ultrastructural examination of the conjunctiva, led to the diagnosis of Salla disease. This was supported by a tenfold excretion of urinary free sialic acid, without abnormal oligosacchariduria or anomaly in lysosomal enzymes. This boy is a native of Southern France. Screening of urinary sialic acid has to be introduced in aetiological investigations of patients with apparently non-progressive psychomotor retardation associated with ataxia or dystonic movements.

Résumé Après avoir déterminé les caractéristiques physicochimiques des vitrocéramiques pour utilisation en orthopédie, les auteurs ont procédé à leur implantation dans différents segments osseux de lapin. Les prélèvements effectués entre 1 et 6 mois mettent en évidence une colonisation osseuse de bonne qualité au centre et en périphérie de l'implant.

The aim of this study was to establish the effects of two iodine-containing radiological contrast media (ioxaglate and diatrizoate) on plasma iodide, thyroid hormones and TSH in a group of 20 subjects (8 females, 12 males). The following were evaluated two, eight and 30 days after administration of the drugs: plasma iodide, T4, T3, rT3, FT4I, TSH before and after TRH (250 µg IV). 131I uptake was measured before the media were given and 30 days afterwards. The results were compared at the different times during the investigation using Wilcoxon's signed ranking test for non-parametric variables. Plasma iodide was found to be above the normal range two to eight days after ioxaglate and two to eight and 30 days after diatrizoate. After ioxaglate, rT3 was increased at eight days and T3 at 30 days. 131I uptake remained low after the 30th day. After diatrizoate, T4 was decreased on the second day and FT4I was low on the eighth and 30th day. All figures represent statistically significant but nevertheless minor variations of the initial value of each parameter.In conclusion, although ioxaglate and diatrizoate lead to variations in plasma thyroid hormone levels, they are of little importance.

The article offers information on the role of the block chains in the Kenya-based nonprofit, Grassroots Economics Foundation in the field of the community development. Topics discussed include information on the creation of the currencies by their own to prevent economic instability and rise in development; discussions on the benefits of the currencies to pay for food, education and health care; and the information on the exploring how block chain technology improve the community development.

THE ASSOCIATION of Graves' disease and hypothyroidism with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis has long been recognized. In some cases, hypothyroidism seems to be the final outcome of Graves' thyrotoxicosis.1 Many reports are not completely substantiated, however, and none, to our knowledge, reports on the histological appearance of the thyroid gland at both stages of the disease in the same patient.Report of a CaseA 39-year-old woman (height, 159 cm; weight, 55 kg) was seen in 1972 with thyrotoxicosis, unilateral exophthalmos, and a large, smooth goiter. The six-hour sodium iodide uptake was raised at 68% (normal, 25% to 35% dose), and the scan was homogenous. The patient was euthyroid during antithyroid drug therapy (carbimazole, 30 mg/day), as confirmed at repeated checkups during 1972 and 1973.Treatment was discontinued voluntarily by the patient from 1973 to January 1977. At that time, the patient was again found to be thyrotoxic with a

Before the release of genetically-modified or sterile male mosquitoes in an attempt to control local populations of malaria vectors, it is crucial to determine male traits involved in mating success. The effects of male size and age as determinants of male mating success in Anopheles gambiae s.s. were measured in the field and under laboratory conditions in Burkina Faso. First, the body sizes (estimated by wing length) of mating, swarming, and indoor-resting male mosquitoes were compared over a 3-yr period (2006–2009) from July to October in Soumousso and Vallée du Kou, two villages in western Burkina Faso. Second, the age structure of swarming and resting male mosquitoes were characterized based on the number of spermatocysts and the proportion of sperm in the reservoir of wild-caught male testis. Third, male age effects on the insemination rate of female An. gambiae were investigated in the laboratory. The mean size of males collected in copula was significantly larger than the mean for swarming males and indoor-resting males. The optimum male age for successful insemination of females was 4–8 d. These results suggest that male size is an important trait in determining male mating competitiveness in the field. Although age was not found to be a significant factor in mating competitiveness, it was significantly correlated with swarming behaviors in the field and insemination success in the laboratory. The implications of these results in terms of sexual selection in An. gambiae and vector control programs are further discussed.

A field test of integrated vector control was conducted in a tropical urban setting with a combination of a floating, slow-release, granular formulation of Bacillus sphaericus and environmental engineering measures (renovation of roads, collective water pumps, and cesspool lids). The targets were Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles gambiae in the two biggest towns of Burkina Faso (West Africa). Within the intervention zone, water pumping stations were improved and the surroundings drained to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water. Roads were leveled and given either simple gutters on each side or a concrete channel on one side to drain runoff water. Garbage containers were installed to provide an alternative to the drainage channels for waste disposal. Septic tanks were modified so that they could be emptied without destroying their lid. This study showed that it is possible to implement mosquito control in a tropical urban environment with teams of young people rapidly trained to apply a biological larvicide without any tools other than an iron bar to lift cesspool lids. Environmental improvements were initially costly, but demanded little subsequent expenditure. Local inhabitants' committees were mobilized to provide people with information and monitor the efficacy of the measures. Compared with what people spent individually on mosquito prevention and malaria medicine, these measures were not expensive, but many expected the community to pay for them from existing taxes, e.g., for water treatment and disposal. The necessary funding and logistics require a municipal organization with neighborhood support, if the measures are to be effective.

Bluetongue virus (BTV) is an economically important arbovirus of ruminants transmitted by Culicoides biting midges. Vector control using residual spraying or application to livestock is recommended by many authorities to reduce BTV transmission; however, the impact of these measures in terms of both inflicting mortality on Culicoides and subsequently upon BTV transmission is unclear. This study consisted of a standardized World Health Organization laboratory assay to determine the susceptibility of European Culicoides species to deltamethrin and a field trial based upon allowing individuals of a laboratory strain of Culicoides nubeculosus Meigen to feed upon sheep treated with Butox 7.5 pour-on (a deltamethrin-based topical formulation). Susceptibility in the laboratory trial was higher in colony C. nubeculosus (24-h LC90 = 0.00106%), than in field populations of Culicoides obsoletus Meigen (24-h LC90 = 0.00203%) or Culicoides imicola Kieffer (24-h LC90 = 0.00773%). In the field, the pour-on formulation was tested with a total of 816 C. nubeculosus specimens fed upon on the thigh of treated sheep. The study revealed a maximum mortality rate of 49% at 4 d postapplication, and duration of lethal effect was predicted to be as short as 10 d, despite testing being carried out with a highly susceptible strain. The reasons for this low efficacy are discussed with reference both to the potential for lack of spread of the active ingredient on the host and feeding patterns of the major potential vector species on the sheep host. Practical implications for vector control strategies during BTV incursions are also detailed.

A floating, slow-release, granular formulation of Bacillus sphaericus (Neide) was used to control mosquito larvae in two suburban areas of two tropical cities: Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. A circular area of 2 km2, diameter 1,600 m, was treated in each city using a similar, smaller area 1 km away as an untreated control. Mosquito captures were made in houses in four concentric circles, from the periphery to the center; each circle was 50 m in width. Mosquitoes were captured in CDC light traps or from human landings. More than 95% of the mosquitoes were Culex quinquefasciatus (Say) (Diptera: Culicidae). The human landing catches provided twice as many mosquitoes as did the CDC traps/night/house. The treatments resulted in important reductions relative to the control area and to preintervention captures. The reduction was more prominent in the inner circle (up to 90%) than in the outer circle (50-70%), presumably because of the impact of immigrating mosquitoes from nontreated breeding sites around the intervention area. This effect was more pronounced for light trap catches than from human landings. The impact of treatment was also measured as the mean ratio of mosquito density in the two outer circles to that of the two inner circles. This ratio was ~1:1 before the intervention and reached 1:0.43 during the intervention. This comparison does not depend on the assumption that, in the absence of intervention, the mosquito population development in the two areas would have been identical, but does depend on the homogeneity of the intervention area. The study showed that it is possible to organize mosquito control in a tropical, urban environment by forming and rapidly training teams of young people to carry out the mosquito control mostly using a biopesticide that can be applied without any tools except an iron bar to lift lids on some cesspits.

An entomological survey was carried out in three humid savannah sites of western Burkina Faso (Bama, Lena, and Soumousso) to 1) update the taxonomy of the Anopheles funestus Giles group, 2) examine the role of each species in malaria transmission, 3) characterize the insecticide resistance status of this malaria vector, and 4) determine the distribution of An. funestus chromosomal forms in these areas. Polymerase chain reaction identification of the members showed the occurrence of An. leesoni Evans in Lena and An. rivulorum-like in Soumousso in addition to An. funestus s.s. Malaria transmission was ensured mainly by An. funestus s.s. both in Soumousso and Lena and by An. gambiae s.s. Giles in Bama, the rice-growing area. The insecticide resistance status performed only on An. funestus indicated that this mosquito was susceptible to pyrethroids irrespective of the study area, but it was resistant to dieldrin. Furthermore, the occurrence of the two chromosomal forms of An. funestus, namely, Kiribina and Folonzo, seemed to follow ecological setups where Kiribina predominated in the irrigated area and Folonzo was more frequent in classic savannah. This study revealed that the problematic of An. funestus taxonomy was closer to that of An. gambiae requiring more structured studies to understand its genetic ecology.

In southern Europe, orbiviral diseases such as bluetongue (BT) have been assumed to have been largely transmitted by the classical Afro-Asian vector Culicoides imicola Kieffer (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Recent outbreaks have occurred in regions where C. imicola is normally absent, supporting the theory that other species belonging to the Obsoletus or Pulicaris complexes may play a role in BT virus transmission. Investigations of the ecology of the species within the former group are hampered by females of member species being extremely difficult to separate by classical morphology. To allow straightforward separation of these species in France, a multiplex polymerase chain reaction-based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-1 rDNA was developed to distinguish between Culicoides chiopterus Meigen, Culicoides dewulfi Goetghebuer, Culicoides montanus Shakirjanova, Culicoides obsoletus Meigen, and Culicoides scoticus Downes & Kettle. This tool will be useful in defining both the vector role and larval biotopes of these species in Europe.

The M and S molecular forms of Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto Giles are thought to be reproductively isolated through premating barriers. However, the exact mechanisms of recognition of conspecific partners are unknown. Because mating in An. gambiae occurs in swarms, one might expect swarming behavior between the M and S forms to be different and that this probably reduces the risk of contact between males and females of the different forms in areas where they are sympatric. We report the occurrence of four mixed swarms, containing males of M and S forms, out of a total of 26 swarms sampled in Soumousso, a typical savannah village of Burkina Faso, West Africa. However, the frequency of mixed swarms was lower than that expected by chance. This observation suggests partial segregation between the swarms of the molecular forms, which may contribute to their isolation. Because the frequency of mixed swarms seems too high to explain the low frequency of cross-mating and hybrids, we suggest that mate recognition in a swarm is more important than swarm segregation.

We compared the development of the molecular forms of Anopheles gambiae s.s. in different larval habitats. First stage larvae (L1s) of wild-caught females were placed into cages in natural habitats of the M form (rice fields) or the S form (puddles/quarries). Each cage was covered with cloth, allowing exchange of water, solutes, and small particles, including microorganisms, and was seeded with 100 L1s of a single form (M or S) or by a mixture of 50:50 of M and S forms. Emergence success of both forms in puddles and quarries was three-fold higher than in the rice fields. The emergence rate of the S form was higher than that of the M form in both habitats, but the form × habitat interaction was not significant. In temporary larval sites such as puddles, emergence success of the M form was lower in mixed cages than in single form cages, whereas the reverse was true for the S form, suggesting competition between the forms. The median developmental time was not significantly different between forms. Although these findings demonstrate differences between forms, they do not suggest that their spatial segregation is determined by differences in their exploitation of the physical and chemical conditions in these environments. These results should be regarded with caution because small numbers of first stage larvae could pass through the cloth of the cages.