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Objective A decreased sensitivity to 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) has been shown to be associated with increased energy intake and therefore an increased body mass index, although other studies have not confirmed this association, suggesting the involvement of other factors. We investigated whether the endocannabinoid system, which also modulates hunger/satiety and energy balance, plays a role in modulating eating behavior influenced by a sensitivity to PROP. Methods The plasma profile of the endocannabinoids 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), anandamide (AEA), and congeners of AEA, palmitoylethanolamide and oleylethanolamide (OEA), was determined in normal-weight PROP supertasters (STs) and PROP non-tasters (NTs). A cognitive eating behavior disorder was assessed by the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire, which estimates dietary restraint, disinhibition, and perceived hunger. Results The disinhibition score of NTs was higher than those of STs ( P = 0.02). Moreover, in NTs, OEA was inversely correlated to the perceived hunger score ( r = −0.7, P = 0.002), and AEA was positively correlated to the restraint score ( r = 0.5, P = 0.04) and negatively to the perceived hunger score, although the latter correlation was at the limit of statistical significance ( r = −0.47, P = 0.05). In addition, we found lower concentrations of AEA and 2-AG in the plasma of NT compared with ST subjects (AEA, P = 0.034; 2-AG, P = 0.003). Conclusions Our data suggest that a higher disinhibition behavior in NTs may be compensated in part, in normal-weight subjects, by the decrease of peripheral endocannabinoids to downregulate the hunger–energy intake circuitry.

The PROP taste phenotype varies greatly among individuals, influencing eating behavior and therefore may play a role in body composition. This variation is associated with polymorphisms in the bitter receptor gene TAS2R38 and the taste-bud trophic factor gustin gene. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between TAS2R38 haplotypes and the gustin gene polymorphism rs2274333 in modulating PROP taste phenotype. PROP phenotype was determined in seventy-six volunteers (29 males, 47 females, age 25±3 y) by scaling methods and threshold measurements. TAS2R38 and gustin gene genotyping was performed using PCR techniques. The lowest responsiveness in PROP nontasters is strongly associated with the AVI nontasting TAS2R38 variant and the highest responsiveness in supertasters is strongly associated to allele A and genotype AA of the gustin gene. These data support the hypothesis that the greater sensitivity of supertasters could be mediated by a greater taste-bud density. Polymorphisms in TAS2R38 and gustin gene, together, accounted for up to 60% of the phenotypic variance in PROP bitterness and to 40% in threshold values. These data, suggest that other unidentified factors may be more relevant for detecting low concentrations of PROP. Moreover, the presence of the PAV variant receptor may be important for detecting high concentrations of PROP, whereas the presence of allele A in gustin polymorphism may be relevant for perceiving low concentrations. These data show how the combination of the TAS2R38 and gustin gene genotypes modulate PROP phenotype, providing an additional tool for the evaluation of human eating behavior and nutritional status.

Method: We analyzed fertilization of 1692 oocytes previously microinjected and cultured in EMBRYOSCOPE from April to December 2011. Out of these 1692, 1269 underwent normal fertilization (75%), 48 were uni-pronucleated (2.8%) and 63 were tri-pronucleated (3.7%). The remaining 312 oocytes suffered degeneration or had no pronuclei. The EMBRYOSCOPE is a time-lapse incubator that allows us to view, like in a film, the embryo development from the moment of ICSI until transfer by taking pictures of the embryos every 20 minutes in seven different depth fields. Thanks to the EMBRYOVIEWER, we are able to know the time after ICSI of many events that we consider to be important for the embryo evaluation, such as pronuclei appearance and disappearance, cell cleavage, etc. In addition, it allows us to measure certain parameters, such as pronuclei area and different lengths. We also registered the number of good quality embryos in day +3, considering these to be the A and B category embryos, according to the ASEBIR scale. After the ovarian puncture the oocytes are injected and cultured in EMBRYOSCOPE with GLOBAL culture media (LifeGlobal, IVFOnline) until day 3. Statistical analysis was performed with G-STAT. Differences were considered statistically significant at P< 0.05.

Method: We analyzed fertilization of 1692 oocytes previously microinjected and cultured in EMBRYOSCOPE from April to December 2011. Out of these 1692, 1269 underwent normal fertilization (75%), 48 were uni-pronucleated (2.8%) and 63 were tri-pronucleated (3.7%). The remaining 312 oocytes suffered degeneration or had no pronuclei. The EMBRYOSCOPE is a time-lapse incubator that allows us to view, like in a film, the embryo development from the moment of ICSI until transfer by taking pictures of the embryos every 20 minutes in seven different depth fields. Thanks to the EMBRYOVIEWER, we are able to know the time after ICSI of many events that we consider to be important for the embryo evaluation, such as pronuclei appearance and disappearance, cell cleavage, etc. In addition, it allows us to measure certain parameters, such as pronuclei area and different lengths. We also registered the number of good quality embryos in day +3, considering these to be the A and B category embryos, according to the ASEBIR scale. After the ovarian puncture the oocytes are injected and cultured in EMBRYOSCOPE with GLOBAL culture media (LifeGlobal, IVFOnline) until day 3. Statistical analysis was performed with G-STAT. Differences were considered statistically significant at P< 0.05.

Resume Les auteurs rapportent un nouveau cas de septicemie a Pasteurella multocida , consecutif a une morsure profonde chez un homme de 26 ans, en parfaite sante, malgre une antibiotherapie prophylactique appropriee. L'evolution ne fut favorable qu'apres excision d'un abces et antibiotherapie a forte dose.