The Petunia CHANEL Gene is a ZEITLUPE Ortholog Coordinating Growth and Scent Profiles.

The floral perianth, comprising sepals and petals, conceals the sexual organs and attracts pollinators. The coordination of growth and scent emission is not fully understood. We have analyzed the effect of knocking down CHANEL (PhCHL), the ZEITLUPE ortholog in petunia (PhCHL) by hairpin RNAs. Plants with low PhCHL mRNA had overall decreased size. Growth evaluation using time lapse image analysis showed that early leaf movement was not affected by RNAi:PhCHL, but flower angle movement was modified, moving earlier during the day in knockdown plants than in wild types. Despite differences in stem length, growth rate was not significantly affected by loss of PhCHL. In contrast, petal growth displayed lower growth rate in RNAi:PhCHL. Decreased levels of PhCHL caused strongly modified scent profiles, including changes in composition and timing of emission resulting in volatile profiles highly divergent from the wild type. Our results show a role of PhCHL in controlling growth and development of vegetative and reproductive organs in petunia. The different effects of PhCHL on organ development indicate an organ-specific interpretation of the down regulation of PhCHL. Through the control of both timing and quantitative volatile emissions, PhCHL appears to be a major coordinator of scent profiles.

[Long-acting injectable risperidone in treatment resistant borderline personality disorder. A small series report]. / Risperidona intramuscular de acción prolongada en el trastorno límite de la personalidad resistente al tratamiento.Un estudio piloto.

INTRODUCTION: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is usually treated with a combination of antipsychotic and anticonvulsant drugs although only limited efficacy is obtained in many patients. A major problem in the treatment of BPD is the lack of compliance derived form the pathological impulsivity of BPD patients. METHODS: Twelve severe BPD patients refractory to previous treatment with drug combinations for three months were treated with intramuscular long-acting risperidone for a six-month period. Clinical changes were rated with the Clinical Global Impression (CGI), the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, anxiety and aggression scales. Functional improvement was evaluated with the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). RESULTS: Six-month treatment with IM risperidone was associated with significant improvement of CGI (t: 5.7 - 4.0; p<0.01) and of GAF (t: -4.5; gl: 10; p<0.01). Clinical improvement was robust after the first month of treatment. No relevant extrapiramidal side effects were reported with the exception of mild psychomotor slowing which requires dose adjustments in four patients. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with i.m. long acting risperidone during six months was associated with significant clinical and functional improvement and excellent tolerability in a group of BPD patients refractory to previous treatment. The results indicate that the effect of IM risperidone in BPD should be further investigated in large placebo-controlled trials.

[Prospective survey on adverse effects of radiopharmaceuticals]. / Enquête prospective sur les effets indésirables des médicaments radiopharmaceutiques.

In France, radiopharmaceuticals have been considered as drugs since 1992. Few adverse reactions with radiopharmaceuticals were described in the literature. Some authors have reported a rate of 1 to 6 reactions per 100,000 injections. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of radiopharmaceutical-induced side effects. A prospective survey was performed from November 1993 to May 1995 (during 18 months) in the Department of Nuclear Medicine of the University Hospital in Toulouse. There were 14,794 injections of radiopharmaceuticals (99mTc-phytate, 99mTc-microspheres of serum albumin, 99mTc-dimercapto-succinic acid (DMSA), 99mTc-hydroxymethyldiphosphonate (HMDP), 99Tc-colloid, 99mTc, 99mTc-sestamibi, Thallium-201). Three side effects were reported: one case of necrosis at the injection site, one case of vomiting and one case of dizziness. All the cases occurred with Tc99m-pyrophosphate. According to the WHO definition, the first side effect was classified as 'serious'. The causal relationship was unlikely for the first and second case and probable for the third. The outcome of these side effects was always favorable.

[Ultrastructural, histochemical and histological study of bladder pheochromocytoma]. / Etude histologique, histochimique et ultra-structurale d'un phaeochromocytome vésical

In the rarely occuring vesical location the pheochromocytoma shows the usual features as well from morphological (conventional and ultrastructural) as from histochemical point of view. Biochemical examinations confirm the amount of adrenalin and noradrenalin. In connection with this case the authors discuss the problems related to the histogenesis of vesical pheochromocytomas and consider the linking up of this type of tumors to the APUD system.