The impact of poly implant prothèse fraud on breast cancer patients: a report by the institut curie.

In March of 2010, French authorities suspended the use of breast implants made by the company Poly Implant Prothèse. Institut Curie is a large cancer center, and Poly Implant Prothèse was one major silicone-filled breast implant brand used. This report describes the impact of the fraudulent implants worldwide and more specifically on patient care at the authors' unit. From 2002 to 2009, the median number of Poly Implant Prothèse implants removed per year was 32. Since the first alert in March of 2010, 252 of these breast implants were removed in 2010 and 2011. The breast implants removed were mainly reported as normal, with a rupture rate of less than 5 percent before 2008. However, the annual rupture rate has increased from 2008 to 2011 (8, 14, 20, and 23 percent, respectively). The Institut Curie, in conjunction with breast cancer patients, has organized a management plan to deal with this major industrial fraud. Its surveillance program of breast cancer patients facilitated the management of patients during this difficult time.

Environmentally-induced changes in protein composition in developing grains of wheat are related to changes in total protein content.

Nitrogen (N) nutrition, post-anthesis temperature and drought-induced changes in the kinetics of accumulation of dry mass, total grain N and protein fractions (albumins-globulins, amphiphils, gliadins, and glutenins) contents were examined for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Crops were grown in controlled environment tunnels in 1994 and 1998. In 1994, five post-anthesis temperatures averaging from 15-25 degrees C were applied during grain-filling. In 1998 two post-anthesis temperatures averaging 13 degrees C and 20 degrees C were applied and factorized with two post-anthesis water regimes. In 1994 crops also were grown in the field, where different application rates and timing of N nutrition were tested. When expressed in thermal time, the kinetics of accumulation of the protein fractions were not significantly affected by post-anthesis temperature or drought; whereas N nutrition significantly increased the rate and duration of accumulation of storage proteins. Albumin-globulin proteins accumulated during the early stage of grain development. The rate of accumulation of that fraction decreased significantly at c. 250 degrees Cd after anthesis, when the storage proteins (gliadins and glutenins) started to accumulate significantly. Single allometric relationships for the different environmental conditions exist between the quantity of each protein fraction and the total quantity of N per grain. From these results it was concluded that (1) the process of N partitioning is neither significantly affected by post-anthesis temperature or drought nor by the rate and timing of N nutrition and (2) at maturity, variations in protein fraction composition are mainly because of differences in the total quantity of N accumulated during grain-filling.