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International audience; Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with a high risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and HCC recurrence remains the primary threat to outcomes after curative therapy. In this study, we compared recurrent and nonrecurrent HCC patients treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in order to identify characteristic metabolic profile variations associated with HCC recurrence. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) -based metabolomic analyses were conducted on serum samples obtained before and after RFA therapy. Significant variations were observed in metabolites in the glycerolipid, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, fatty acid, and amino acid pathways between recurrent and non-recurrent patients. Observed differences in metabolites associated with recurrence did not coincide before and after treatment except for fatty acids. Based on the comparison of serum metabolomes between recurrent and non-recurrent patients, key discriminatory metabolites were defined by a random forest (RF) test. Two combinations of these metabolites before and after RFA treatment showed outstanding performance in predicting HCV-related HCC recurrence, they were further confirmed by an external validation set. Our study showed that the determined combination of metabolites may be potential biomarkers for the prediction of HCC recurrence before and after RFA treatment. © Liu et al.

International audience

This paper determines the usefulness of three-dimensional (3D) phase-contrast (PC) magnetic resonance (MR) angiography with 3D display in characterizing large intracranial saccular aneurysms. Eight patients referred for non invasive confirmation of unruptured aneurysm (n=9) detected by conventional CT and/or MR imaging were studied by 3D PC (VENC of 20 cm/s, 3 axes) in axial acquisition localised on the circle of Willis using a 0.5 T unit (Vectra, GE). We used 3D display images to assess the feasibility of selective treatment. Results were correlated with catheter angiograms in 3 patients. In two thirds of the cases, location and size of the orifice, size of the sac, and clarification of parent artery were clearly provided allowing prediction of therapeutic management. In the remaining cases results remained doubful because of lack of spatial resolution. The benefit of the method was coupled with the clinical status of the patients to influence the final decision. 3D PC MR angiography with 3D display has emerged as an improvement in predicting therapeutic management, and is especially useful in large unruptured aneurysms in elderly or ill patients.

In France, artificial insemination of geese is rarel practiced. It could, however, increase the number of goslings produced. Different studies have been conducted at the Experimental Station of Palmipedes a Foie Gras in order to establish physiological and technical basis for artificial insemination. Dorso-abdominal massage of the ganders allowed the collection of about 0.3 ml of semen containing 150 million spermatozoa. About 40 % of the males do not respond to this stimulation. The best male donors could be selected at the beginning of the reproductive season. Three to five times a week was determined to be the most efficient frequency of collection. The highest fertility rate (80 % eggs fertile/incubated) was obtained with doses of 20 x 1 10 spermatozoa, inseminated twice a week separated by an interval of 72 or 96 hours. Dilution of the semen increased its fertilizing ability and consequently decreased the number of spermatozoa required for insemination. Semen can be diluted and stored for a short time (6 hours) without inducing a significant decrease in the fertility rate (71.9 % vs 75.1 % with undiluted fresh semen)., L’insémination artificielle chez l’oie, actuellement peu utilisée, pourrait permettre une amélioration de la productivité numérique de cette espèce. Une série de travaux a été réalisée à la Station Expérimentale des Palmipèdes à Foie Gras,visant à en établir les bases physiologiques et techniques. La méthode de massage dorso-abdominale permet de récolter chez le jars gris des Landes en moyenne 0,3 ml de sperme renfermant 150 millions de spermatozoïdes. L’adaptabilité des mâles à la méthode de collecte est très variable (environ 40 %de « mauvais » ou non-donneurs), mais un tri en début de saison de reproduction pourrait permettre de ne garder que les bons donneurs. La fréquence de prélèvement optimale des mâles se situe entre 3 et 5 fois par semaine. Les taux de fécondation les plus élevés (80 % oeufs fécondés / incubés) sont obtenus avec deux inséminations hebdomadaires (espacées de 72 ou 96 heures) de 20 millions de spermatozoïdes. L’emploi d’un dilueur adapté semble améliorer le pouvoir fécondant des spermatozoïdes,ce qui permet d’envisager la réduction du nombre de spermatozoïdes inséminés. Par ailleurs, la semence peut être diluée et conservée pendant une courte période (6 heures) sans entraîner une chute importante du taux de fertilité(71,9 % vs 75,1 % avec du sperme frais non dilué), assouplissant ainsi les « chantiers» d’insémination artificielle.

Trois essais de rationnement alimentaire ont été réalisés sur des parquets (15) d’oies reproductrices grises des Landes, pendant leur saison naturelle de reproduction (printemps) et en plein air, afin d’évaluer si les surconsommations spontanées d’aliment observées avant l’entrée en ponte puis après le pic de ponte jouent un rôle déterminant sur les performances. Une limitation de l’ingéré énergétique à 700 kcal/jour/animal (320 g/jour d’un aliment contenant 2200 kcal d’énergie métabolisable/kg et 17% MAT) appliquée de mi-novembre jusqu’au stade 20% de ponte, entraîne une légère réduction du nombre d’oeufs (-2 oeufs/oie) mais une augmentation de 10 à 15% de leur taux de fertilité avec un bilan positif de +4 oisons par mère. Deux autres niveaux de rationnement testés (500 et 1000 kcal/jour/animal) sont ou trop ou trop peu sévères. Un rationnement préalable à la ponte et limitant la prise de poids des femelles à 1,0 -1,2 kg paraît donc recommandable. Après le pic de ponte (fin mars), la limitation de l’ingéré énergétique à 660 kcal/oie pénalise fortement la ponte (moins 6 oeufs par femelle) mais accroît fortement le taux de fertilité (+ 13%). A ce stade, un rationnement différent des mâles et des femelles mériterait d’être développé., Differents programmes of feed restriction have been evaluated on goose breeders kept outdoor in order to evaluate whether the spontaneous overconsumptions of feed which occur before the beginning of laying and after the peak of lay, play an important role on performances. During two successive trials, a limitation of the energy intake at 700 kcal ME/day/bird (320 g/day of a feed containing 2200 kcal ME and 170 g CP/kg) was applied from mid-november up to the date on which the laying rate reached 20% (about midfebruary). This treatment induced a small, non significant reduction in the number of laid eggs and a large increase (+10 to +15%) in fertility with a positive balance of +4 goslings/goose. Two other levels of restriction (500 and 1000 kcal ME/day/bird) were tested on the same part of the laying cycle ; they appeared to be too much and not severe enough respectively. A restriction level which limits the geese body weight increase to 1.0 - 1.2 kg could be recommended. After the peak of lay (end of march), a limitation of the energy intake at 660 kcal ME/day/bird was detrimental to the laying rate (-6 eggs/goose) but is still largely favourable to the fertility rate (+15%). For this period, different feeding programmes would be probably justified for geese and ganders.