Physiological and anatomical responses to drought stress differ between two larch species and their hybrid.

KEY MESSAGE: Hybrid saplings were more reactive to soil water deficit than Japanese and European larch. European larch had hydraulically safer wood and anisohydric behavior, Japanese and hybrid larch showed isohydric strategy. ABSTRACT: Deciduous larch species could be an alternative to evergreen conifers in reforestation, but little is known about drought sensitivity of their saplings. The effect of an experimental drought on hydraulics and quantitative wood anatomy was tested on saplings of European larch (EL, Larix decidua), Japanese larch (JL, Larix kaempferi) and their hybrid (HL). Across species, biomass, transpiration rate and relative water content were higher in controls than in drought stressed trees, but transpiration efficiency was lower. JL had the highest transpiration efficiency under drought, and EL the lowest, coinciding with slower growth of EL. Wood of EL formed before drought was hydraulically safer as shown by higher wall/lumen ratio and lower pit cavity area. EL neither had a significant increase in transpiration efficiency nor a reduction in transpiration rate under drought, suggesting that the stomata remained open under soil water deficit. HL saplings were the most reactive to water shortage, indicated by intra-annual density fluctuations and a decrease in relative water content of the sapwood. Significant reduction in transpiration by HL suggested a higher stomatal sensitivity, while the same leaf surface area was maintained and radial growth was still similar to its best parent, the JL. The latter showed a significantly lower leaf surface area under drought than controls. EL, with its hydraulically safer wood, followed an anisohydric behavior, while JL and HL revealed an isohydric strategy. Altogether, our results suggest species dependent acclimations to drought stress, whereby HL followed the strategy of JL rather than that of EL. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00468-021-02129-4.

Long-Term Complications of Open Mason's Vertical Banded Gastroplasty at a Single Tertiary Center and Literature Review.

Vertical banded gastroplasty (VBG), introduced by Mason in 1982, is now discarded because of important long-term complications and technical difficulties to do revisional surgery. We investigated the long-term complications of VBG in our center and compared it with the literature data. Patients who underwent an open VBG at the University Hospital of Nantes between October 1991 and May 2006 were included. We reviewed preoperative clinical data, long-term outcome in weight loss, complications, and revisional surgeries with a long follow-up. Sixty-three patients (52 women and 11 men) were included, with a mean age of 43 ± 10 years and a body mass index of 46.7 ± 8.3 kg/m². The mean follow-up was 8.2 ± 4.2 years. At the end of follow-up, the mean excess weight loss (EWL) was 29.8%. Long-term success (excess weight loss > 50%) of the procedure was observed in 25 patients (39.7%). A second intervention was performed in 15 patients (23.8%), and three needed a third redo procedure. Six patients (40%) had this new intervention for late complications, and nine (60%) for weight regain. Weight loss is satisfying in the long term although the rate of reintervention is high. Long-term complication can be severe, especially with gastric stenosis that could lead to esophageal cancer. A second reintervention could be technically demanding, especially by laparoscopy, and the patients should be referred to a specialized center.

Environmental Exposure of the Adult French Population to Permethrin.

This work aims to assess the exposure to permethrin of the adult French population from available contamination measurements of outdoor air, indoor air, and settled dust. Priority is given to the assessment of chronic exposure, given the potential of permethrin to induce cancers and/or endocrine disorders. A statistical method was devised to calculate exposure to permethrin by different pathways (inhalation, indirect dust ingestion, and dermal contact). This method considers anthropometric parameters, the population's space-time budget, and recent methods for calculating dermal exposure. Considering the media of interest, our results pointed to house dust as the main environmental source of permethrin exposure, followed by indoor and outdoor air. Dermal contact and indirect dust ingestion may be more important exposure pathways than inhalation. A sensitivity analysis indicated that exposure estimates were mainly affected by variability within contamination data. This study is the first step in aggregated exposure and risk assessment due to pyrethroid exposure. Outdoor air, indoor air, and settled dust may constitute significant exposure sources, in addition to diet, which could be important. The next step entails assessing internal doses and estimating the proportion of each exposure source and pathway relative to internal exposure.

Socio-economic costs of indoor air pollution: A tentative estimation for some pollutants of health interest in France.

An evaluation of the socio-economic costs of indoor air pollution can facilitate the development of appropriate public policies. For the first time in France, such an evaluation was conducted for six selected pollutants: benzene, trichloroethylene, radon, carbon monoxide, particles (PM2.5 fraction), and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). The health impacts of indoor exposure were either already available in published works or were calculated. For these calculations, two approaches were followed depending on the available data: the first followed the principles of quantitative health risk assessment, and the second was based on concepts and methods related to the health impact assessment. For both approaches, toxicological data and indoor concentrations related to each target pollutant were used. External costs resulting from mortality, morbidity (life quality loss) and production losses attributable to these health impacts were assessed. In addition, the monetary costs for the public were determined. Indoor pollution associated with the selected pollutants was estimated to have cost approximately €20 billion in France in 2004. Particles contributed the most to the total cost (75%), followed by radon. Premature death and the costs of the quality of life loss accounted for approximately 90% of the total cost. Despite the use of different methods and data, similar evaluations previously conducted in other countries yielded figures within the same order of magnitude.

Interest of Using Ropivacaine for Outpatient Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: Prospective Randomized Trial.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to evaluate the interest of using ropivacaine for outpatient laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The use of local anesthesia by instillation and infiltration could reduce pain and increase the number of outpatient cholecystectomies. METHODS: A one-center randomized prospective clinical trial compared the use of ropivacaine during outpatient laparoscopic cholecystectomy to the control group of outpatients for laparoscopic cholecystectomy between April 2014 and May 2015. One hundred twenty-four were eligible, and 100 patients were randomized. Patients with outpatient cholecystectomy were randomized into 2 groups: ropivacaine group (Rop group) and control group (control group). We performed a ropivacaine intraperitoneal instillation and wound infiltration for the ropivacaine group at the end of the procedure. The primary observation was authorization for home discharge. The patient was evaluated by the surgeon using the Chung score. Secondary observations included postoperative pain at 2 h post-surgery, at 6 h post-surgery and the day following surgery. RESULTS: Ninety-eight were able to leave on the evening of surgery. At 6 h post-surgery, the Chung score was identical for both groups (p = 0.73). At 2 and 6 h post-surgery and the day following surgery, there was no significant difference in pain levels (p = 0.63; p = 0.61; p = 0.98). Analgesic consumption was no significant difference in the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The use of ropivacaine does not increase the rate of home discharge and does not change the postoperative pain of outpatient cholecystectomy.

Is the 2-cm size cutoff relevant for small nonfunctioning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: A French multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: Nonfunctioning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-PNETs) are often discovered at a small size. No clear consensus exists on the management of NF-PNETs ≤ 2 cm. The aim of our study was to determine the prognostic value of indicators of malignancy in sporadic NF-PNETs ≤ 2 cm. METHODS: Eighty patients were evaluated retrospectively in 7 French University Hospital Centers. Patients were managed by operative resection (operative group [OG]) or observational follow-up (non-OG [NOG]). Pathologic characteristics and outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: Sixty-six patients (58% women) were in the OG (mean age, 59 years; 95% CI, 56.0-62.3; mean tumor size, 1.6 cm; 95% CI, 1.5-1.7); 14 (72% women, n = 10) were in the NOG (mean age, 63 years; 95% CI, 56-70; mean tumor size, 1.4 cm; 95% CI, 1.0-1.7). All PNETs were ranked using the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society grading system. Fifteen patients (19%) had malignant tumors defined by node or liver metastasis (synchronous or metachronous). The median disease-free survival was different between malignant and nonmalignant PNETs, respectively: 16 (range, 4-72) versus 30 months (range, 1-156; P = .03). On a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, tumor size had a significant impact on malignancy (area under the curve [AUC], 0.75; P = .03), but not Ki-67 (AUC, 0.59; P = .31). A tumor size cutoff was found on the ROC curve at 1.7 cm (odd ratio, 10.8; 95% CI; 2.2-53.2; P = .003) with a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 75% to predict malignancy. CONCLUSION: Based on our retrospective study, the cutoff of 2 cm of malignancy used for small NF-PNETs could be decreased to 1.7 cm to select patients more accurately.

Quantification of short and long asbestos fibers to assess asbestos exposure: a review of fiber size toxicity.

The fibrogenicity and carcinogenicity of asbestos fibers are dependent on several fiber parameters including fiber dimensions. Based on the WHO (World Health Organization) definition, the current regulations focalise on long asbestos fibers (LAF) (Length: L ≥ 5 µm, Diameter: D < 3 µm and L/D ratio > 3). However air samples contain short asbestos fibers (SAF) (L < 5 µm). In a recent study we found that several air samples collected in buildings with asbestos containing materials (ACM) were composed only of SAF, sometimes in a concentration of ≥10 fibers.L-1. This exhaustive review focuses on available information from peer-review publications on the size-dependent pathogenetic effects of asbestos fibers reported in experimental in vivo and in vitro studies. In the literature, the findings that SAF are less pathogenic than LAF are based on experiments where a cut-off of 5 µm was generally made to differentiate short from long asbestos fibers. Nevertheless, the value of 5 µm as the limit for length is not based on scientific evidence, but is a limit for comparative analyses. From this review, it is clear that the pathogenicity of SAF cannot be completely ruled out, especially in high exposure situations. Therefore, the presence of SAF in air samples appears as an indicator of the degradation of ACM and inclusion of their systematic search should be considered in the regulation. Measurement of these fibers in air samples will then make it possible to identify pollution and anticipate health risk.