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Introduction L’hyperaldosteronisme primaire (HAP) est evoque devant l’association HTA-hypokaliemie ou devant une HTA resistante. La prevalence de l’HAP chez l’hypertendu serait de 8 a 13 %. Plusieurs cas d’HAP a pression arterielle normale ont ete rapportes. La prevalence de l’HAP serait de 6,8 % chez les patients normotendus avec hypokaliemie. Observation Nous rapportons le cas d’une patiente de 31 ans presentant une hypokaliemie severe (2.8 mmol/L) sans HTA associee (profil tensionnel normal sur 24 heures en MAPA). Les premiers dosages n’avaient pas permis le diagnostic d’HAP : aldosterone a 80 pg/mL(N L’absence d’hypercorticisme, hypomagnesemie et argument pour un diagnostic differentiel (acidose tubulaire, tubulopathie congenitale), ont conduit a repeter les dosages 6 mois plus tard, associes a un test de charge sode. Le diagnostic d’HAP etait alors certain : aldosterone respectivement a 791 et 325 pg/mL, avant et apres charge sodee ; renine a 0.6 pg/mL et RAR a 158. Le scanner surrenalien montrait une hyperplasie bilaterale des surrenales et le catheterisme des veines surrenaliennes etait en faveur d’une secretion bilaterale. La spironolactone a ete introduite a 75 mg/jour avec bonne efficacite (K : 3.6 mmol/L) et bonne tolerance. Discussion L’HAP est sous diagnostique, en particulier dans les formes moins typiques et rares que sont les formes « normotendues ». Devant une hypokaliemie chronique, il faut savoir repeter les dosages et proposer un test de confirmation. Le seuil pathologique de RAR doit etre discute dans ces formes d’HAP « normotendues ».

The heating and confinement of electrons in an electron-cyclotron-resonance ion source (ECRIS) plasma is described: the single particle motion in a magnetic beach is presented, showing the role of the rf wave magnetic field in the electron losses. This effect can be approximately modeled by a Fokker–Planck quasilinear equation in velocity space. This modeling is discussed and numerical results are presented. The behavior of the wave close to resonance is analyzed, taking into account the thermal motion of the electrons. The role of the different design parameters (including rf frequency) is shown and the major ingredients for the design of an efficient ECRIS for multiply charged ions production are summarized.

Nanoimprint is a promising technique, which allows the replication of nano-objects on a large surface by a low cost and simple process. A Si mould was prepared on an 8 inch diameter wafer by high-resolution e-beam lithography. The reverse image of the pattern was obtained by imprinting a resist at a force of 15 kN. This image is subsequently transferred in Si by reactive ion etching (RIE). The magnetic layers have been deposited by magnetron sputtering after nano-imprint and RIE. Both Co/Pt multilayers and CoPtCrTa exhibit a high out-of-plane anisotropy and the magnetic dots as deposited are single domain and exchange decoupled. The recording performances on the pre-patterned structures have been studied with a quasi-static tester using a high-resolution (~1nm) piezoelectric positioning stage and commercial magnetoresistive (MR) write/read heads. The signal to noise ratio (SNR) has been calculated with respect to the BL.

The signal hypothesis, first put forth by G. Blobel and B. Dobberstein over 20 years ago, suggested that all proteins had as part of their primary amino acid sequence an amino-terminal region that defined the destination of proteins carrying that signal. This hypothesis has stood the test of numerous experiments and appears to be pertinent to most cellular compartments and proteins within eukaryotes and prokaryotes, including the chloroplast. Studies with Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the subject of this chapter, have tested these concepts in live cells and have provided both new findings and the confirmation of in vitro results derived from vascular plants. Proteins synthesized outside the plastid carry chloroplast specific signals, often at their amino terminus. This signal can be removed upon entry of the protein into the chloroplast, but those destined for internal compartments within the plastid also contain additional signals. This sub-organelle targeting information can be removed once the protein is correctly localized. Thus chloroplast sorting is determined by multifunctional signal sequences. Experiments with isolated organelles have defined a number of different energetic parameters that are required for the translocation of proteins with distinct types of signal sequences, and models suggest that multiple mechanisms exist within the chloroplast. C. reinhardtii can be grown either heterotrophically or photoautotrophically thereby allowing for the selection and propagation of mutations that affect the biogenesis of chloroplasts, and thus some that affect protein translocation directly. The genetic analysis of thylakoid protein translocation in C. reinhardtii has revealed at least six loci whose products are involved in the process, and has provided genetic means to dissect those paths in vivo that have been described in isolated organelle studies. While there are likely to be a variety of requirements for the targeting and translocation of proteins to and within the chloroplast, these mechanisms may well share components between apparatuses, and between diverse groups of organisms.

Sub-100 nm resolution on a 200 mm silicon stamp has been hot embossed into commercial Sumitomo NEB 22 resist. A single pattern, exposed with electron beam lithography, has been considered to define the stamp and thus make it possible to point out the impact of stamp design on the printing. These results may be considered as a first attempt to define rules to solve the proximity printing effects (PPEs). Moreover, a large range of initial resist thickness, from 56 to 506 nm, has been spin coated to assess the effect of polymer flow properties for the stamp cavity filling and the printed defects. A detailed analysis of the printed resist in dense hole patterns showed that the application volume conservation is enough to calculate the residual layer thickness as the height of the printed resist feature. Good accordance has been obtained between the theoretical approach and experimental results. Moreover, the impact of the pattern symmetry breakdown on mould deformation is clearly shown in this paper in the printed areas as well as in the unprinted areas.

Sub-100 nm patterns can be duplicated by nanoimprint lithography with high reproducibility, even on 200 mm wafers. Nevertheless, several problems have to be solved before this technique reaches a mature state for industrial applications. Several kinds of defect appear frequently in printed polymers. Some of them are induced by capillary effects and are related to mould deformation. Capillary bridges are observed on the flat surfaces around the pattern areas, or inside the printed structures. In this paper, the influence of the polymer molecular weight (M(w)) on the capillary bridge distribution is presented. It will be shown that for smaller M(w), they appear first around the pattern areas and move towards the structures more rapidly. It is also demonstrated that this evolution depends directly on the printing temperature and pattern filling related to the feature density and the film thickness. Finally, it is shown that the influence of these parameters is related to the polymer viscosity, which is the dominant property of the capillary effects, and a trade-off has to be made between the limitation due to the capillary bridges, the decrease of the temperature, which is important to reduce the cycle time, and the sticking defects.

The prevalence or hypertension increases with aging, reaching more than 50% in people aged 60 years and older. The increase of systolic blood pressure is a major risk of cardiovascular event.With the aim of assessing risk factors in old people "in apparent good health", we analysed blood pressure and treatments in people aged 60 years and older who had a periodic check-up that was adapted to older people.This check-up concerned, between April and December 2003, 1638 people with a mean age of 68 years (SD 5.7): 815 men and 823 women. Fourty percent had a systolic blood pressure (SBP)or=140 mmHg (44% of men, 36% of women); 6% (8% of men, 4% of women) had a diastolic blood pressure (DBP)or=90 mmHg. A treatment for hypertension was followed by 473 people: 31% of men and 26% of women. Fifty percent were controlled for the SBP and the DBP. Fourty-two percent were not controlled for the SBP, but were controlled for the DBP. Seven percent were not controlled for the SBP nor the DBP. Only 3 subjects (1%) were not controlled for the DBP, whereas they were controlled for SBP.These results, combined with data of literature on the predominant role of SBP in cardio-vascular risk, as compared with DBP, underline the need for a better treatment of systolic hypertension in older people.

International audience; The cDNA encoding a putative serine protease, TsSerP, was cloned by degenerative polymerase chain reaction and screening of the cDNA library from Trichinella spiralis adult-newborn larvae stage. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of two trypsin-like serine protease domains flanking a hydrophilic domain, with the catalytic triad residue histidine in the alpha domain substituted by an arginine residue. Southern blots indicated that this was a single copy gene in the parasite genome. Northern blots demonstrated a single 2.3-kb transcript during the muscle larvae and adult stages of T. spiralis. The recombinant protein from the TsSerP beta domain (beta SerP) was produced but not recognised by T. spiralis-infected swine serum. An anti-beta SerP polyclonal serum detected a 69-kDa polypeptide in the soluble antigens of T. spiralis muscle larvae. Immunolocalisation analysis located TsSerP on the inner layer of the cuticle and oesophagus of the parasite, suggesting a potential role in its moulting and/or digestive functions.

Habitat fragmentation is known to cause genetic differentiation between small populations of rare species and decrease genetic variation within such populations. However, common species with recently fragmented populations have rarely been studied in this context. We investigated genetic variation and its relationship to population size and geographical isolation of populations of the common plant species, Lychnis flos-cuculi L., in fragmented fen grasslands. We analysed 467 plants from 28 L. flos-cuculi populations of different sizes (60 000-54 000 flowering individuals) in northeastern Switzerland using seven polymorphic microsatellite loci. Genetic differentiation between populations is small (F(ST) = 0.022; amova; P0.001), suggesting that gene flow among populations is still high or that habitat fragmentation is too recent to result in pronounced differentiation. Observed heterozygosity (H(O) = 0.44) significantly deviates from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and within-population inbreeding coefficient F(IS) is high (0.30-0.59), indicating a mixed mating breeding system with substantial inbreeding in L. flos-cuculi. Gene diversity is the only measure of genetic variation which decreased with decreasing population size (R = 0.42; P0.05). While our results do not indicate pronounced effects of habitat fragmentation on genetic variation in the still common L. flos-cuculi, the lower gene diversity of smaller populations suggests that the species is not entirely unaffected.

Lymphoepithelial carcinoma of the parotid is a rare and little known tumour The ethnic origin of the patients and the association with the Epstein-Barr virus are recognized but not invariable. The mechanism of the carcinogenesis thus remains an enigma. The authors report the observation of a patient which is remarkable because of his European origin and the positivity of serologies to the Epstein-Barr virus, and discuss the features of the lesion through the literature.

Study design: Validation of a new wheelchair racing test. Objective: To assess the reproducibility of test parameters at different, subjectively chosen, intensity levels in wheelchair racing athletes. Setting: Swiss Paraplegic Centre, Nottwil, Switzerland. Subjects: We tested 11 (eight male, three female) young competitive wheelchair racing athletes. Their age was 20.5±6.4 years, height 164.7±16.3 cm and weight 54.1±9.2 kg. Average weekly training time was 6.8±2.7 h. All had been engaged in regular training for over 3.9±2.8 years. Methods: Within a period of 3±1 days, every athlete completed two identical tests in their own racing chair on a training roller. The tests consisted of five 1500 m bouts at routine training intensities of 1 (warm-up) up to 5 (race speed), with a rest of 2 min between each bout. The athletes were blinded to all the collected data during the whole of the test, except for indications of the 500, 1000 and 1500 m markers. We measured the overall time (for 1500 m), average speed, stroke frequency, heart rate, rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and the concentration of lactic acid for all five intensity bouts. In order to get a measure on how reproducible these intensity levels were, we compared the two tests of each athlete with each other, and calculated the root-mean-squared coefficients of variation (CV) for all measured parameters during every bout. Results: CVs of the measured data show that the most reproducible values were found for bout 5 (2.6–7.9%); except for the lactic acid parameter. The heart rate (CV: 3.1–6.4%) and stroke frequency (CV: 6.5–7.9%) parameters reached rather constant values throughout all five bouts. Lactic acid concentrations showed very high CVs (16.8–29.7%). Conclusion: We conclude that this test is, with the exception of the lactic acid measurements, well reproducible, and particularly suitable for young wheelchair athletes. We find it to be a helpful tool for improving awareness for the individual training intensities, and for pursuing the development of the training process, as particularly the high-intensity bouts are well reproducible.

A novel cooling device fully built in silicon technology is presented. The new concept developed in this work consists in micromachining the bottom side of the circuit wafer in order to embed heat sinking microchannels directly in the silicon material, as near as possible to the heat generation source. These microchannels are then sealed, by a direct wafer bonding procedure, with another silicon wafer where microchannels and inlet-outlet nozzles are micromachined too. Such a configuration presents the advantages to provide a significant reduction of the cooler overall dimensions, to reduce the number of involved materials and to be obtainable by a VLSI compatible technology. The first prototype has been designed to meet severe power dissipation constraints representative of high-power electronic devices (i.e. IGBT). Using an adequate thermal simulator with appropriate approximations, the optimum dimensions of the micro heat sink were found out. The realization procedure was then carried out in a clean room environment. First experimental characterization results obtained from the earlier prototypes has demonstrated that the thermal properties of this silicon-based cooling device are satisfactory and can be reasonably compared to those of commercially available copper micro heat sinking components.

We evaluated industrially prepared Western blot strips designed to avoid the cross-reactions observed with indirect immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays used for the serodiagnosis of trichinellosis. The antigen preparations were crude extracts of Trichinella spiralis . The Western blot profile characteristic of trichinellosis was characterized by comparing 60 sera from patients infected by Trichinella to 11 sera from healthy subjects, 51 sera from patients with other proven parasitic diseases (cysticercosis, schistosomiasis, strongyloidosis, fascioliasis, toxocariasis, liver amebiasis, anisakiasis, filariasis, toxoplasmosis, hydatidosis, or malaria), and 23 sera from patients with autoantibodies. Specific 43- to 44-kDa and 64-kDa bands were obtained with all of the sera from 51 patients with acute trichinellosis, in 4 out of 9 patients at the early stages of the disease, and in only 1 control patient, who had suspected anisakiasis and in whom trichinellosis could not be ruled out by muscle biopsy.

The use of microchannels in silicon substrates as a forced liquid cooling device for power integrated circuits is investigated. Thermal dissipation characteristics are calculated for several microchannels geometry. An optimised structure is proposed and its technological realisation is described.

The use of microchannels in silicon substrates as a forced liquid cooling device for power integrated circuits is investigated. The new concept presented in this work consists of placing water cooled heat sink structure directly inside the silicon substrate in order to be as close as possible to the heat generation source (circuit) and to reduce the number of heterojunctions involved in the cooling device, so to reduce the thermal stress. Thanks to commercially available software, Flux3D and Pascosma, some simplifying hypotheses were proposed and thermal dissipation characteristics are optimised for several microchannel geometries as a function of some constraints. Finally, fin technological realisation procedure is described.

The seven Criteria of Cochin (CC), clinical descriptive criteria of low back pain (LBP), have been shown to be able to select patients whose LBP would respond well to facet joint anesthesia.To determine if these seven criteria set are able to select patients with significant relief of LBP after corticosteroid facet joint injections (CFJI).Ninety-one patients with chronic LBP were included in a positive group (PG) or a negative group (NG) according to the number of the positive CC. Patients placed in the PG had five or more of the positive CC and those in the NG had less than five of the positive CC. All of them received CFJI on day 0 (D0). The severity of LBP and leg pain, disability and CFJI effect were evaluated on a self-questionnaire on D0, D2, D8 and D30.Two hundred and seventeen CFJI were performed (mean 2.1 per patient). Compared to the initial values we observed a significant reduction of the LBP at D2, D8 and D30 in both the groups (P0.05), a significant augmentation of the leg pain at D30 in the GN (P0.05) and a significant improvement of the Quebec back pain disability scale (QBDS) at D8 and D30 in the PG (P0.05). Compared to the NG values, the PG had a significant higher global estimation of the efficacy of the treatment (P0.05) and a significant lesser intensive LBP (P0.05) on D2, D8 and D30, a significant lesser intensive leg pain (P0.05) on D30, and a tendency to a more important reduction of the QBDS on D8 and D30 (P0.05).CC seems to be an effective test to select patients whose LBP would respond well to CFJI.

Several studies have demonstrated that floating body effects in partially-depleted SOI-CMOS technology can have a beneficial impact on the performance of digital circuits (Cristoloveanu and Li, 1995; Gautier et al., 1997). Nevertheless, the electrical characterization of transient phenomena is a difficult problem because the associated time constants can be close to a few nanoseconds. Direct measurement of the transient drain current (overshoot and undershoot) require a dedicated instrumental set-up (Jenkions et al., 1997) and do not correspond to the real conditions of IC operation (Wei et al., 1998). We propose an indirect method to measure the transient behavior of MOSFET drain current with a switching gate. The purpose of this work is to correlate the transistor time constants with the variation of the average drain current as a function of the switching frequency. The advantage of measuring the average current is to accurately reflect the transistor operation in logic circuits.

Objectif Preciser la place du catheterisme veineux surrenalien (KTVS) dans l’exploration des hyperaldosteronismes primaires (HAP) et ses criteres de qualite : seuil de selectivite et seuil de lateralisation. Patients et methodes Etude retrospective de 6 cas d’HAP ayant beneficie d’un KTVS sur 15 mois. Resultats 5 hommes et 1 femme (âge moyen 52 ans). Les circonstances de diagnostics etaient : HTA resistante ancienne (n = 3) et decouverte d’HTA severe (n = 3) avec tendance a l’hypokaliemie. Le diagnostic d’HAP a ete porte sur le ratio aldosterone/renine plasmatique. Les scanners ne permettaient pas de differencier un adenome de Conn relevant d’un traitement chirurgical, d’une hyperplasie des surrenales traitee medicalement. Deux KTVS sur 6 n’ont pas ete selectif. Une fois repris 100 % des KTVS etaient interpretables. Deux patients presentaient une lateralisation et ont ete pris en charge chirurgicalement avec succes (normalisation et/ou amelioration de la kaliemie et la pression arterielle). Discussion Le KTVS est le gold standard pour porter le diagnostic d’HAP lateralise et orienter vers la chirurgie surrenalienne. Se limiter a l’imagerie amenerait a une chirurgie inutile dans 18,5 % des cas et son exclusion injustifiee dans 19,1 % des cas [1] . En cas de diagnostic d’HAP, il est donc recommande (consensus SFE 2013) avant tout acte chirurgical. La selectivite des prelevements est indispensable pour permettre une bonne interpretation du rapport de lateralisation. Ainsi, un dosage extemporane du cortisol pour verifier la selectivite permet de reiterer immediatement les prelevements en cas d’echec.

At its very early phase, septic shock is characterized by severe hypovolemia related to abundant fluid losses, increased venous compliance and maldistribution of extracellular fluid (interstitial edema, splanchnic pooling). It results in a drop in venous return and cardiac output. Volume expansion, with crystalloids or colloids produces a hyperdynamic state with high cardiac output and low peripheral resistances. The quantity of liquid administered rather than its composition is the main determinant. Clinical examination and hemodynamic monitoring (Swan-Ganz catheter) appear to provide the most useful criteria to assess the limits of liquid administration. Better understanding in the mechanisms of circulatory dysfunction due to the inflammation cascades might soon lead to a new approach in fluid therapy.

Trichinellosis, a re-emerging zoonosis in several countries and pig, is the main species responsible for its transmission to human. Vaccination of swine could be an alternative to prevent the risk of human contamination. In order to develop an efficient and safe inactivate vaccine, the choice of the adjuvant is an important issue. The aim of this study was to develop and select potent and safe adjuvants by screening them in an experimental model with a crude soluble antigen from L1 muscular larvae (ML) of Trichinella spiralis (Ts). The efficacy was checked by the quantification of specific antibody levels. Specific and non-specific IgE antibody levels were also assessed. Safety was checked by the assessment of the local reaction at the injection site. Various Montanide® ISA adjuvant formulations including water in oil, oil in water and multiphasic emulsions, but also nanoparticles or microbeads were tested. The results clearly showed differences between the antibody responses induced by the adjuvants and demonstrated the necessity to use an adjuvant to obtain a specific IgG (IgG1or IgG2a) response directed against the total soluble extract of Ts. All the formulations enhanced the humoral immune response. The origin of the oil contained in the emulsions played an important role on the efficacy. Indeed emulsions based on mineral oils were more efficient than those based on metabolisable oils. However it was linked with stronger local reactions. Multiphasic and oil in water emulsions but also nanoparticles failed to induce IgG2a antibody levels. Microbeads and water in oil formulations based on mineral oils were more efficient. This experimentation allowed then the selection of several adjuvants which efficacy will be further investigated by a challenge test and an analysis of the cellular populations involved in the mechanism of the immune response.

Recently, founder BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations were identified in Canadian breast cancer and breast-ovarian cancer families of French ancestry. The presence of a breast cancer case diagnosed at younger than 36 years of age was strongly predictive of the presence of any founder mutation screened. Here we report the occurrence of founder BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in a series of 61 French Canadian women with invasive breast cancer diagnosed at age 40 or younger, unselected for family history of breast and ovarian cancer. Germline mutations in BRCA1 (n = 4) and BRCA2 (n = 4) were identified in 8 of 61 (13%) cases. All BRCA1 mutations were found in invasive ductal carcinomas, the most common histologic type of tumor in this series. In contrast, the BRCA2 mutations were found in tumors of various histologic types: two ductal carcinomas, a tumor containing both ductal and lobular histologic types and an invasive lobular carcinoma. Of the 37 women with at least one first-, second- or third-degree relative with breast or ovarian cancer and the 24 women with no history of these cancers, 7 (19%) and 1 (4%), respectively, were mutation carriers. The seven mutation carriers with a family history of cancer had at least one first-, second- or third-degree relative with a breast cancer diagnosis at less than 51 years of age. The identification of founder BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in young-onset breast cancer cases unselected for family history can facilitate carrier detection when the expected yield of a comprehensive screen may be low.

There are only a few proteins identified at the cell surface that could directly regulate plant cell wall functions. The cell wall-associated kinases (WAKs) of angiosperms physically link the plasma membrane to the carbohydrate matrix and are unique in that they have the potential to directly signal cellular events through their cytoplasmic kinase domain. In Arabidopsis there are five WAKs and each has a cytoplasmic serine/threonine protein kinase domain, spans the plasma membrane, and extends a domain into the cell wall. The WAK extracellular domain is variable among the five isoforms, and collectively the family is expressed in most vegetative tissues. WAK1 and WAK2 are the most ubiquitously and abundantly expressed of the five tandemly arrayed genes, and their messages are present in vegetative meristems, junctions of organ types, and areas of cell expansion. They are also induced by pathogen infection and wounding. Recent experiments demonstrate that antisense WAK expression leads to a reduction in WAK protein levels and the loss of cell expansion. A large amount of WAK is covalently linked to pectin, and most WAK that is bound to pectin is also phosphorylated. In addition, one WAK isoform binds to a secreted glycine-rich protein (GRP). The data support a model where WAK is bound to GRP as a phosphorylated kinase, and also binds to pectin. How WAKs are involved in signaling from the pectin extracellular matrix in coordination with GRPs will be key to our understanding of the cell wall's role in cell growth.

Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of fat and lean mass on both arterial stiffness and bone mass density (BMD) in elderly men. Methods This study was performed in 169 French males over 60 years. Aortic stiffness was assessed by carotid/femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). BMD and body composition were determined with a DEXA device in lumbar spine L1-L4, femoral neck and total body. Results Lean mass was positively correlated with the three T-scores accounting for 11.6 %, 26.6 % and 12.2 % of the variability in lumbar spine L1-L4, femoral neck and total body BMD T-scores respectively. Fat mass had no effect on BMD. However, fat mass was positively correlated with aortic PWV accounting for 9.8 % of its variability. Lean mass was not a determinant of PWV. Hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia were associated with higher PWV but had no effect on BMD. Conclusions In males from a general population over 60 years of age, bone and arterial aging are differently influenced by lean and fat mass. Our results indicate that elderly men with high lean mass and low fat mass exhibit the best arterial and bone profile, with the lowest arterial stiffness and the highest BMD.

Here, we investigated changes in apoptosis during tumor progression by analyzing the effect of coexpressing various antiapoptotic genes on the multistage process of c-myc-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in transgenic mice. Whereas continuous c-myc gene overexpression in the liver led to cellular hepatocarcinoma, the coexpression of the bcl-2 gene inhibited the emergence of liver tumors, by inhibiting a pretumoral phase characterized by increased proliferation and apoptosis. This antioncogenic effect was specific to Bcl-2 and was not shared by other antiapoptotic genes such as bcl-xL and a dominant negative form of p53. Thus, we have shown that Bcl-2 can have a tumor suppressor effect in vivo on c-myc-induced hepatocarcinogenesis during the emergence of neoplastic foci.

The use of noninvasive techniques to measure respiratory muscle performance after different types of endurance exercise has not been entirely successful, as the results have not consistently indicated diminished performance for similar types of exercise. The aim of the present study was 1) to compare different, noninvasive methods to assess respiratory muscle performance before and after an exhaustive cycling endurance test (which has previously been shown to induce diaphragmatic fatigue) and 2) to determine which of the tests best reflect published results of measurements of diaphragmatic fatigue. Twelve healthy subjects participated in the study and performed three different test series in a random order on three different days. These tests were performed before, and 5, 40 and 75 min after an exhausting task (a cycling endurance run at 85% of maximal oxygen uptake (V'O2,max)). The tests of the three test series were 1) breathing against a constant inspiratory resistance to task failure, 2) determination of 12-min sustained ventilatory capacity, and 3) spirometric and maximal inspiratory and expiratory mouth pressure measurements. The only measurement that was affected by exhaustive cycling was the time to task failure breathing against inspiratory resistance. It was significantly reduced from (mean+/-sD) 364+/-88 s before exercise to 219+/-122 s at 5 min after cessation of exercise. It is concluded that the constant-load resistive breathing test to task failure is the only noninvasive respiratory muscle performance test evaluated in this study which shows a decrease in respiratory muscle performance after exhaustive endurance exercise.

A hand-size probe including 64 elementary 5 X 5 X 2 mm CdTe detectors has been optimized to detect the (gamma) tracer 99Tc in the heart left ventricle. The system, has been developed, not for imaging, allowing acquisitions at 33 Hz to describe the labeled blood volume variations. The (gamma) -counts variations were found accurately proportional to the known volume variations of an artificial ventricle paced at variable rate and systolic volume. Softwares for on line data monitoring and for post-processing have been developed for beat to beat assessment of cardiac performance at rest and during physical exercise. The evaluation of this probe has been performed on 5 subjects in the Nucl Dep of Balatonfured Cardiology Hospital. It appears that the probe needs to be better shielded to work properly in the hot environment of the ventricle, but can provide reliable ventriculography, even under heavy exercise load, although the ventricle volume itself is unknown.

A gene encoding a protein of 646 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 71·3 kDa showing homology to the cytoplasmic form of the 70 kDa heat shock protein was cloned and sequenced from the nematode parasite Trichinella britovi (Tb). The gene was expressed in vitro as a protein of 71 kDa that was immunoprecipitated by a Trichinella-infected rabbit serum. Monospecific polyclonal antibodies raised against the recombinant Tb Hsp70 expressed in Escherichia coli, recognized a protein of 70 kDa by Western blot analysis of Tb soluble antigen (muscular stage). Tb Hsp70 was located in the nuclei of the muscle larvae as determined by the indirect immunofluorescent pattern on cross-sections of the worm. The expression of this protein was not detected in adult worm nuclei suggesting a differential expression of Hsp70 between the 2 stages of Trichinella.

Trichinellosis : a persistent parasitic zoonosis. Trichinellosis is a parasitic disease induced by the consumption of raw or poorly cooked meat contaminated with the nematode parasite : Trichinella. This worldwide worm parasite use multiple origin to contaminate human or hosts like rodents, wild carnivorous, bears which are the real reservoir. Despite a low prevalence of the infection in herbivorous, contamined horse meat remains a serious risk for human in France and Italy according to the alimentary custom in these two countries. The difficulties to do an early diagnostic test wane the efficiency of anthelminthic chemotherapy in human. If regular controls in Western Europe are well applied in meat analysis of pig, horse and wild boar, it is not the case for the Eastern Europe or in several provinces in China. The concept of vaccination against Trichinella linked with an improvment of the direct and indirect tests are now area of research to fight against the human disease., La trichinellose est une maladie parasitaire provoquée par l’ingestion de viande crue ou peu cuite contaminée par le nématode Trichinella. Ce ver parasite cosmopolite utilise de multiples sources pour contaminer l’homme ou de nouveaux hôtes comme les rongeurs, les carnivores sauvages, les ursidés qui constituent un véritable réservoir. Le cheval, malgré un faible taux d’infestation (1/25 000), représente un risque particulier en France et en Italie compte tenu de coutumes alimentaires. La difficulté d’établir un diagnostic précoce limite considérablement l’efficacité des traitements anti-parasitaires spécifiques chez l’homme. De plus, les contrôles, effectués systématiquement en Europe occidentale par dépistage direct du parasite dans les viandes d’animaux à risque (porc, cheval, sanglier), ne sont pas fiables dans les pays d’Europe de l’Est et impossible à appliquer dans toutes les provinces de la Chine ou d’autres pays à économie émergente. De ce fait, le concept de prophylaxie médicale (vaccination des espèces cibles les plus à risque) joint à l’amélioration des tests de dépistage, notamment grâce à la biologie moléculaire (mise en place d’un diagnostic précoce, identification indirecte du parasite) apparaissent comme de nouvelles voies de recherche pour prévenir la maladie humaine., Boireau Pascal, Perret Catherine, Fabien Jean-François. La trichinellose : une zoonose parasitaire persistante. In: Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France tome 152 n°3, 1999. pp. 101-110.

The calbindin-D9K gene encodes a vitamin D-induced calcium-binding protein that is expressed as a marker of small intestine differentiation. We have shown that 4580 base pairs of its 5' DNA regulatory region can target reporter transgene expression in the intestine and cause this transgene to respond like the endogenous gene to vitamin D active metabolite and that the homeoprotein Cdx2 is bound to the TATA box in the intestine. We now show that the 4580 base pairs construct confers a differentiated pattern of reporter transgene expression in the intestine and that cooperation between the proximal promoter and a distal element located in an opened chromatin structure is responsible for the intestinal expression and vitamin D responsiveness of the transgene. Gel shift and footprinting assays using duodenal nuclear extracts indicate that this distal element contains a Cdx2-binding site. Finally, a mutation in this distal Cdx2-binding site dramatically decreases intestinal expression in transgenic mice. This report, using an in vivo approach, demonstrates the crucial role of Cdx2 for the transcription of an intestinal gene.

Some patients experiencing near-fatal asthma present with extreme hypercapnia (PaCO2or = 100 mm Hg), whereas others do not. The influence of this factor on short- and long-term outcome and quality of life in these patients is still unknown.A series of 39 consecutive patients who had had an episode of near-fatal asthma between 1978 and 1992 were followed up. Long-term outcome and quality of life of the 12 patients who had experienced extreme hypercapnia were compared with those of the 27 patients who had not.Four patients died, but only 1 from asthma. Three patients were lost to follow-up. The remaining 32 patients had a median observation period of 12.7 years. The hypercapnic patients did not significantly differ from the others in past asthma history, subsequent hospitalizations, medication needs, pulmonary function tests, quality of life and impairment/disability. In the event of subsequent near-fatal asthma attacks, they tended to present with hypercapnia levels similar to those observed during the first episode.Extreme hypercapnia in near-fatal asthma tended to recur, but is not an aggravating long-term prognostic factor. Targeted surveillance of these high-risk patients should make it possible to reduce relapses and death rates from asthma.

Several monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) were raised against the L1 muscle stage (L1M) of Trichinella spiralis (Ts) and Trichinella pseudospiralis (Tp). Western blot analysis of various antigenic preparations established that Mabs described by different authors recognized 8 antigenic fractions (TSL1–TSL8) in crude extracts of infective larvae. The TSL1 fraction was immunodominant and present on the cuticle of different parasite stages. Mabs against Trichinella T5 (T5) and Ts were selected in order to extend the previous studies to another Trichinella phenotype. Only 35% of the selected Mabs recognized linear epitopes and 71% reacted with soluble or excretory–secretory antigens in a dot blot procedure and ELISA test. The targets of the Mabs were identified by immunoprecipitation with [35S]methionine-labelled L1M worm lysate. Mabs prepared from mice immunized with the whole parasite (T5) recognized a wider panel of antigens in different parasitic organs. Seven antigenic structures were distinguished on the cuticle and several epitopes were identified in the gut, haemolymph and stichocytes. Eleven antigenic groups were established according to their indirect immunofluorescence pattern on cross-sections of the worm. Monoclonal antibodies raised against Ts soluble antigen mainly recognized epitopes in stichocytes and on the cuticle surface. All the selected Mabs recognized T5 and Trichinella britovi (Tb) strengthening the link between these 2 species. Four Mabs were used to differentiate antigenic structures among 6 Trichinella phenotypes and to develop a new tool to follow gene flow within the Trichinella genus.

Identification by medical providers of families at higher risks for breast cancer relies on patients' recollection of family histories. While patients seem to report the occurrences of breast cancer in their first-degree relatives accurately, little is known about the precision of reports of ages at diagnosis of cancers in relatives, one of the most revealing clues with regard to hereditary transmission. Moreover, the methods used in previous studies to elicit the family reports render their applicability to the medical setting questionable.Confirmatory pathology records were sought and compared with reports of breast cancer events among 125 first-degree relatives by 68 women with breast cancer and 37 women without the disease.Sixty-seven (90.5%) of the reports of the occurrence of breast cancer in relatives by affected women and 32 (97.0%) of those by unaffected women were accurate. Women reporting several affected relatives often overreported the presence of breast cancer events. Nearly 89% of the reports of age at diagnosis were correct within five years. The average error in the reports was 2.0 years. The precision of reports of age at diagnosis did not differ according to the educational level of the proband, the age at which the relative had been diagnosed, or the type of relative affected. However, the mean error in reporting the age at diagnosis of relatives was significantly larger among probands 70 years old or older compared with younger probands.These results suggest that relying on reports by patients with and without breast cancer should not critically affect the assessment of breast-cancer risks for family members. Nevertheless, verification by examination of pathology records is justified when decisions about patient management and referral for genetic counseling are made based on reports of several affected relatives.